BACKGROUND Although use of modern contraception is considered beneficial in lowering maternal and child mortality rates, the prevalence of contraceptive use remains low in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This study examined modern contraceptive use and its linkage to women's autonomy. METHODS Data were drawn from the 2013-2014 Democratic Republic of Congo Demographic and Health Survey. We s...

Over the last few decades, total fertility rates, child morbidity, and child mortality rates have declined in most parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Among the most striking trends observed are the rapid rate of urbanization and the often remarkably large gaps in fertility between rural and urban areas. Although a large literature has highlighted the importance of migration and urbanization within co...

Data on under five mortality in the twelve countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States show important fluctuations over time due to variations in quality of data, definitions of neonatal deaths and methods of mortality estimation. Despite the uncertainties regarding mortality trends, the analysis of health and social information from different sources offers clues to identify priority a...

This article describes prospective population policies and programs that may be implemented in the Pacific Island Countries during the post-International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) era (i.e., by the year 2005, the target date of the ICPD Program of Action). Some of the positive indicators in the Pacific Islands are a high annual average income level, high average life ...

Objectives To assess the effect of vitamin A supplementation in women of reproductive age in Ghana on cause- and age-specific infant mortality. In addition, because of recently published studies from Guinea Bissau, effects on infant mortality by sex and season were assessed. Design Double-blind, cluster-randomised, placebo-controlled trial. Setting 7 contiguous districts in the Brong Ahafo re...

Does a woman's reproductive history influence her life span? This study explores the question with data from the contemporary female populations of England and Wales and Austria. It is the first comparative study to investigate the relationship between fertility and mortality late in life. We find similar patterns and age-specific trends of excess mortality in both populations: parity significa...

An internationally agreed conceptual definition of reproductive health is applied to the development and testing of practical indicators for use in the community. Basic criteria are proposed for an interview-based tool to measure reproductive health -- as opposed to morbidity or mortality -- adapting methods from the health status measurement field. Proposed domains and indicators linked to the...

The female reproductive tract is commonly referred to as oviduct in birds. The oviduct is a highly convoluted muscular duct, concerned with the transport of the ovum away from the ovary, with fertilization of the ovum and by the deposition of albumen, membranes and shell on to the ovum to form the finished egg [1]. Reproductive diseases in poultry causes high morbidity (35%), mortality (15%) an...