BACKGROUND Uganda's poor maternal health indicators have resulted from weak maternal health services delivery, including access to quality family planning, skilled birth attendance, emergency obstetric care, and postnatal care for mothers and newborns. This paper investigated the predictors of maternal health services (MHS) utilization characterized as: desirable, moderate and undesirable. ME...

OBJECTIVE To know and understand the perspectives of women on the quality of maternal health services provided at their health facility (HF) and to incite community self-propelled problem identification and way forward. METHODS A qualitative action- oriented research was conducted in a rural setting in Tanzania from 2011 to 2014. Twenty In-Depth Interviews (IDIs) and two Focus Group Discussio...

BACKGROUND Kenya has a maternal mortality ratio of 488 per 100,000 live births. Preventing maternal deaths depends significantly on the presence of a skilled birth attendant at delivery. Kenyan national statistics estimate that the proportion of births attended by a skilled health professional have remained below 50% for over a decade; currently at 44%, according to Kenya's demographic health s...

BACKGROUND Armed conflict has been described as an important contributor to the social determinants of health and a driver of health inequity, including maternal health. These conflicts may severely reduce access to maternal health services and, as a consequence, lead to poor maternal health outcomes for a period extending beyond the conflict itself. As such, understanding how maternal health-s...

BACKGROUND South Sudan has one of the worst health and maternal health situations in the world. Across South Sudan, while maternal health services at the primary care level are not well developed, even where they exist, many women do not use them. Developing location specific understanding of what hinders women from using services is key to developing and implementing locally appropriate public...

BACKGROUND Ethiopia has high maternal mortality ratio and poor access to maternal health services. Attendance of at least four antenatal care (ANC) visits and delivery by a skilled birth attendant (SBA) are important in preventing maternal deaths. Understanding the reasons behind the poor use of these services is important in designing strategies to address the problem. This study aimed to dete...

BACKGROUND Promotion of institutional delivery is a key intervention in reducing maternal mortality and improving maternal and neonatal health. This study explored factors associated with institutional delivery in rural Nepal. METHOD A household survey was conducted in three rural Village Development Committees of Kavrepalanchowk district to identify the individual, household and health servi...

Armed conflicts, which primarily occur in low- and middle-income countries, have profound consequences for the health of affected populations, among them a decrease in the utilization of maternal health care services. The quantitative relationship between armed conflict and maternal health care utilization has received limited attention in the public health literature. We evaluate this relation...