BACKGROUND A husband's support during childbirth is vital to a parturient woman's emotional well-being. Evidence suggests that this type of support enables a woman to feel more in control during labour by reducing maternal anxiety during childbirth. However, in Nepal, where childbearing is considered an essential element of a marital relationship, the husband's role in this process has not been...

Madagascar's population is predominantly young: those under 15 years account for 45% of the total population, and their number is expected to double again by 2025. First pregnancies accelerate particularly between the ages of 15 and 19 years among Malagasy teens. It seemed essential to know the profile of pregnant adolescents receiving care at a level-2 maternity hospital in the capital so that...

Your birthplace fate or fortune What a privilege it is to have been born in Australia. My parents are third generation farmers and they and their ancestors lived in a small rural and farming community, Kyogle, on the Queensland and New South Wales border. The town has a fluctuating population. According to the census data from 2006, Kyogle’s population is approximately 4110.1 Kyogle Memorial Ho...

To evaluate factors associated with initiation and duration of breastfeeding in Italy, 1601 (73%) respondents among 2192 randomly selected mothers were interviewed within 1 mo of delivery. Mothers who started breastfeeding (85%) were followed-up for 12 mo. A compliance rate of 100% was obtained. At multiple logistic regression analysis, mother having been breastfed herself (p < 0.01), nursing g...

BACKGROUND The frequency of caesarean sections is increasing. Infection in operation wounds and/or underlying spaces and organs is a common complication. In Veileder I fødselshjelp [Clinical Guidelines in Obstetrics], 2008, antibiotic prophylaxis is recommended in the form of single dose ampicillin or first generation cephalosporins in connection with acute caesarean sections and under special ...

Designing the maternity ward of hospitals is crucial due to the special conditions of mothers before, during, and after birth. Numerous environmental factors affect mothers, and it calls for an evidence-based design of these spaces. Although many investigations have drawn their attention to the issue, there is a paucity of research in terms of the significance of the birth environment factors. ...

Background Exploring patient satisfaction contributes to provide quality maternity care, but there is paucity of epidemiologic data in Eritrea. Objectives To determine the predictors of women's satisfaction with intrapartum care in Asmara public maternity hospitals in Eritrea. Methods A cross-sectional study among 771 mothers who gave birth in three public Hospitals. Chi-square tests were d...

BACKGROUND Females are generally more motivated with regard to oral hygiene practices and thus brush their teeth more frequently than males. OBJECTIVE To determine the prevalence of gingival recession, oral hygiene status, oral hygiene practices and associated factors in women attending a maternity ward in Tanzania. DESIGN Cross-sectional descriptive study. SETTING Maternity ward of Muhim...

BACKGROUND Concerns have been raised that a lack of senior obstetricians ("consultants") on the labour ward outside normal hours may lead to worse outcomes among babies born during periods of reduced cover. METHODS AND FINDINGS We carried out a multicentre cohort study using data from 19 obstetric units in the United Kingdom between 1 April 2012 and 31 March 2013 to examine whether rates of o...