Maternal deaths worldwide have fallen from an estimated 532,000 in 1990 to 303,000 in 2015 representing a maternal mortality rate (MMR) for 2015 of approximately 220/100,000 live births. To reach the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Sustainable Development Goal of 70…
Malnutrition is a serious underlying cause for child and maternal deaths around the globe. Undernutrition during pregnancy restricts fetal growth, contributing to about 800000 neonatal and 400000 infant deaths, and 20% of stunting in the first 2 years of the…
Although rates of preterm birth continue to increase globally, identification of preterm from low birth weight infants remains a challenge. The burden of low birth weight vs preterm is greatest in resource-limited settings, where gestational age (GA) prior to delivery…
The World Health Organization identifies pregnant women as at high-risk for severe influenza, but influenza vaccines are underutilized among pregnant women. Data on influenza burden during pregnancy are largely limited to high-income countries and data on the impact of influenza…
Every year, nearly one million deaths occur due to suboptimal breastfeeding. If universally practiced, exclusive breastfeeding alone prevents 11.6% of all under 5 deaths. Among strategies to improve exclusive breastfeeding rates, counselling by peers or health workers, has proven to…
Few data are available on cesarean delivery and operative vaginal delivery trends in low- and middle-income countries. Our objective was to analyze a prospective population-based registry including eight sites in seven low- and middle-income countries to observe trends in operative…
Breech presentation and other less common malpresentations affect up to 3–4% of pregnancies at term and are even more common in earlier gestation. Risk factors for malpresentation are diverse and include maternal age, parity, uterine anomalies, prematurity, fetal growth restriction,…
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that over 2 billion people, roughly 30% of the world’s population, are affected by anemia and at least 50% of pregnant women are anemic. Although anemia has been shown to affect women in both…
Antenatal care (ANC) is an important opportunity to diagnose and treat pregnancy-related complications and to deliver interventions aimed at improving health and survival of both mother and the infant. Multiple individual studies and national surveys have assessed antenatal care utilization…
The importance of exclusive breastfeeding in providing the vital nutrients from birth to 6 months of age is undisputed. Its contribution to infant’s growth and development is unparalleled; therefore, there is an urgent need to strengthen policies, and support interventions…