Kenya has a high maternal mortality rate. Free maternity services program was implemented to improve access and utilization of maternal health services and ultimately improve maternal health. The implementation of the policy in Kenya was done through a top-down approach, with health workers being called upon to implement the formulated policy. Evidence shows that involvement of health workers i...

background: the administration of opioids before induction of general anesthesia can be considered as a problem in cesarean section. the aim of this study was to compare the effects of intravenous fentanyl as a premedication before induction of general anesthesia versus placebo on maternal hemodynamic parameters and on the first and fifth minutes apgar score in the neonates in elective cesarean...

INTRODUCTION Despite widespread gains toward the 5th Millennium Development Goal (MDG), pro-rich inequalities in reproductive health (RH) and maternal health (MH) are pervasive throughout the world. As countries enter the post-MDG era and strive toward UHC, it will be important to monitor the extent to which countries are achieving equity of RH and MH service coverage. This study explores how e...

Background: Poor maternal sensitivity leads to insecure infant attachment, and has been associated with negative cognitive consequences later in life. Maternal sensitivity is an indicator of the interactions between mothers and infants characterized by mutual and concurrent interchanges. The aim of the study is to review and synthesize all published studies that examine the potential effect of ...

introduction hemoglobin (hb) levels in fetus increase with progression of pregnancy, reaching highest levels in life. hb serves as iron reserve in fetus and is needed for the infant to adapt with anemia. many factors can decrease hb levels at birth and lead to accelerated physiological anemia. hence, the infant would require earlier administration of iron drops. identification of these factors ...

BACKGROUND There is a growing movement, globally and in the Africa region, to reduce financial barriers to health care generally, but with particular emphasis on high priority services and vulnerable groups. OBJECTIVE This article reports on the experience of implementing a national policy to exempt women from paying for delivery care in public, mission and private health facilities in Ghana....

INTRODUCTION The drive toward universal health coverage (UHC) is central to the post 2015 agenda, and is incorporated as a target in the new Sustainable Development Goals. However, it is recognised that an equity dimension needs to be included when progress to this goal is monitored. WHO have developed a monitoring framework which proposes a target of 80% coverage for all populations regardless...

BACKGROUND This paper aims to identify factors that influence the capacity of women to voice their concerns regarding maternal health services at the local level. METHODS A secondary analysis was conducted of the data from three studies carried out between 2013 and 2015 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in the context of a WOTRO initiative to improve maternal health services throu...

BACKGROUND Maternal mortality continues to be a heavy burden in low and middle income countries where half of all deliveries take place in homes without skilled attendance. The study aimed to investigate the underlying and proximate determinants of health facility childbirth in rural and urban areas of three districts in Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia. METHODS A population-based survey was conduc...

BACKGROUND Kenya has a high maternal mortality rate. Provision of skilled delivery plays a major role in reducing maternal mortality. Cost is a hindrance to the utilization of skilled delivery. The Government of Kenya introduced a policy of free delivery services in government facilities beginning June 2013. We sought to determine the impact of this intervention on facility based deliveries in ...