BACKGROUND A number of data sets show that high parity births are associated with higher child mortality than low parity births. The reasons for this relationship are not clear. In this paper we investigate whether high parity is associated with lower coverage of key health interventions that might lead to increased mortality. METHODS We used DHS data from 10 high fertility countries to exami...

Background. Nepal is set to achieve MDG-5 goals by end of 2015. However, maternal health parameters will remain way below those of developed countries. This study was conducted to assess the factors contributing to utilization of ANC and safe delivery services with the aim of furthering overall maternal health parameters in Nepal. Material and Methods. Using survey data from the Nepal Demograph...

OBJECTIVES To estimate the reduction in maternal mortality associated with the emergency obstetric care provided by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and to compare this to the fifth Millennium Development Goal of reducing maternal mortality. METHODS The impact of MSF's intervention was approximated by estimating how many deaths were averted among women transferred to and treated at MSF's emerge...

BACKGROUND Indonesia has shown a nominal increase in antenatal care (ANC) coverage from 93% to 96% in the Indonesia Demographic Health Survey (IDHS)-2012. This is high but for a comprehensive assessment of maternal health coverage in Indonesia, safe delivery services need to be assessed in conjunction with ANC coverage. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study uses survey data from the IDHS-2012 that ...

OBJECTIVE To assess quality of care of women with severe maternal morbidity and to identify associated factors. METHOD This is a national multicenter cross-sectional study performing surveillance for severe maternal morbidity, using the World Health Organization criteria. The expected number of maternal deaths was calculated with the maternal severity index (MSI) based on the severity of comp...

BACKGROUND To reach global and national goals for maternal and child mortality, countries must identify vulnerable populations, which includes sex workers and their children. The objective of this study was to identify and describe maternal deaths of female sex workers in Cambodia and causes of death among their children. METHODS A convenience sample of female sex workers were recruited by lo...

OBJECTIVES In recent years, the government of the Philippines embarked upon an ambitious Universal Health Care program, underpinned by the rapid scale-up of subsidized insurance coverage for poor and vulnerable populations. With a view of reducing the stubbornly high maternal mortality rates in the country, the program has a strong focus on maternal health services and is supported by a nationa...

introduction: level of mothers’ literacy, pregnancy history of more than four times, residence in villages, lack of receiving intensive care during pregnancy, as well as inaccessibility to obstetric emergency services have been reported, in iran and the world, as major factors for maternal mortality. considering significance of identifying indirect causes of maternal mortalities, the present st...

BackgroundSeveral studies have examined the relationship between Human Development Index (HDI) and various health outcomes. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between HDI, and infant mortality rate, mortality rate of children under one year and under 5 years, maternal mortality rate, and total fertility rate.Materials and MethodsIn this ecologic study, data on HDI, total ...

Financial crisis can be a threat to health, and International Monetary Fund programmes have been associated with impeded efforts to control child and maternal mortality. In 2008, Greece entered the most serious socioeconomic downturn in the country’s modern history, which has steadily worsened over the following years. Vlachadis and Kornarou reported that an increase in stillbirths in Greece wa...