OBJECTIVE The WHO/UNICEF Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) is an effective strategy to increase breast-feeding exclusivity and duration but many countries have been slow to implement it. The present paper describes the development of a computer-based instrument that measures policies and practices outlined in the BFHI. DESIGN The tool uses clinical staff/managers' and pregnant women/mo...

For our consideration of the subject of Maternal Mortality I ask you to cast your minds back nearly two hundred years. In 1736, a London surgeon, Mr John Douglas, wrote a pamphlet in which he deplored the lamentable state of midwifery practice in London at that time. He expressed surprise that whilst other departments of surgery had been practised and improved by men "the operation necessary fo...

As the preschool years are a formative period for long-term physical and mental health, this period is recognised as an important window for early effective intervention. Parenting behaviour is a key factor to target in order to optimise child development. Group-based interventions for parents are considered efficient and cost effective methods of early intervention and have been found to impro...

A difficulty frequently experienced by the public health officials and workers in charge of maternity relief and child-welfare organizations in this country is in getting reasonably correct statistics of maternal mortality. The -extraordinary variations in the maternal death-rates recorded in the different provinces and in cities in the same province are so incredible that little value can be a...

BACKGROUND Low birth weight continues to remain a major public health problem in Ethiopia in contrast to what is observed in many developing countries. OBJECTIVES To assess some of the predisposing factors to low birth weight among deliveries in Jimma hospital. DESIGN Cross-sectional case referent study. SETTING Maternal and child health clinic and maternity ward of Jimma University Hospi...

12 Feature Like a tropical lullaby, the rocking chairs lay down a languid rhythm accompanied by laughter, bits of gossip, and gripes about the heat. Olga Lydia, 39, anemic, and preparing to give birth to her fi rst child, wonders aloud what it will be like to have a son, when in her heart of hearts she wanted a daughter. Meanwhile, Loreta, 18, and expecting twins, rocks quietly alongside, a smi...

Zainab Camara cradles her two-week-old baby in the postnatal ward of Freetown’s Princess Christian Maternity Hospital. is is the rst child she has delivered in a hospital. And lucky that she did. Shortly a er giving birth at a regional hospital in Waterloo town, about 30 kilometres outside the capital, Camara began to bleed uncontrollably. She was swi ly transferred to Freetown, where doctors o...

BACKGROUND Despite global gains, women in hard-to-reach areas are at a relatively higher risk of death and disability related to childbirth. Traditional methods of measuring satisfaction may mask negative experiences (such as disrespect and abuse) that can drive down demand for institutional care. Better measurement of women's perceptions of care quality, especially among marginalized populatio...

Understanding the flow of resources at the country level to reproductive health is essential for effective financing of this key component of health. This paper gives a comprehensive picture of the allocation of resources for reproductive health in Kenya and the challenges faced in the resource-tracking process. Data are drawn from Kenyan budget estimates, reproductive health accounts, and the ...

In an attempt to understand how change can occur in health services this article focuses on two recent developments in Ireland which came about as a result of an unexpected event and a consequent shift in policy which as Hinrichs (2001) and Castles (2010) suggest can be slow to move. Drawing on path dependency theory this article argues that maternity policies in Ireland were “locked in” betwee...