AIM To evaluate the quality of antenatal care (ANC) in Hebei Province and compare it between the public and private sector and within the public sector. METHODS We conducted a Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Household Survey in 2010 using a two-stage sampling procedure and included 1079 mothers. The quality of ANC was assessed on the basis of the number of ANC visits, the time of the first...

BACKGROUND Despite relatively high number of women who attend antenatal care (ANC) in Cameroon, there is an ever-increasing maternal mortality ratio, and pregnancy outcomes remain inadequate. A new suggested Optimal ANC Package includes attending ANC in the first trimester. This study assesses the overall ANC coverage, the percentage, and pregnancy outcomes among women who attended and did not ...

BACKGROUND Although there are studies showing that mobile phone solutions can improve health service delivery outcomes in the developed world, there is little empirical evidence that demonstrates the impact of mHealth interventions on key maternal health outcomes in low income settings. METHODS A non-randomized controlled study was conducted in the Amhara region, Ethiopia in 10 health facilit...

BACKGROUND Antenatal care (ANC) attendance is a strong predictor of maternal outcomes. In Nigeria, government health planners at state level and below have limited access to population-based estimates of ANC coverage and factors associated with its use. A mixed methods study examined factors associated with the use of government ANC services in two states of Nigeria, and shared the findings wit...

BACKGROUND The importance of postnatal care cannot be overemphasised. Various studies undertaken worldwide have found that PNC is critical for the survival of newborns. However, in Zambia, despite much emphasis by the government and various international Organisations on the need for PNC, coverage continues to be low. This study attempted to assess the demographic and socio-economic factors ass...

BACKGROUND Single-dose nevirapine (NVP) is the simplest antiretroviral regimen for the prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT) in resource-limited settings. We evaluated NVP coverage among HIV-infected delivering women in Côte d'Ivoire. METHODS A cross-sectional survey of mother-infant pairs was conducted between November 2007 and September 2008 in 10 randomly selected faciliti...

BACKGROUND The Millennium Villages Project (MVP) implemented in Western Kenya a mobile Health tool that uses text messages to coordinate Community Health Worker (CHW) activities around antenatal care (ANC) and Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT), named the ANC/PMTCT Adherence System (APAS). METHODS End-user changes in health-seeking behavior in ANC and postnatal care (PN...

OBJECTIVES To investigate uptake and provision of antenatal care (ANC) services in the Uzazi Bora project: a demonstration-intervention project for Safe Motherhood and prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV in Kenya. METHODS Data were extracted from antenatal clinic, laboratory and maternity ward registers of all pregnant women attending ANC from January 2004 until September 2006 a...

Background This study was conducted to determine the seroprevalence of HIV among pregnant women in Brazil and to describe HIV testing coverage and the uptake of antenatal care (ANC). Methods Between October 2010 and January 2012, a probability sample survey of parturient women aged 15-49 years who visited public hospital delivery services in Brazil was conducted. Data were collected from prenat...

BACKGROUND Despite recent achievements in health targets, Ethiopia still faces challenges in health service delivery. Between 2012 and 2015, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), Doctors with Africa CUAMM, implemented a multifaceted project aimed at improving access to maternal and child health services in three districts in Ethiopia. This paper evaluates the performance of this project, based...