Reducing maternal mortality is a global health priority. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim for a reduction of the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) to below 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030. If the SDGs are met by 2030, the…
Globally, cesarean birth rates are on the rise. Many countries have exceeded the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended cesarean birth rate of 10–15%, with some regions experiencing rates over 40%. Conversely, very low resource regions that may have poor access…
In India, biomass fuel is burned in many homes under inefficient conditions, leading to a complex milieu of particulate matter and environmental toxins known as household air pollution (HAP). Pregnant women are particularly vulnerable as they and their fetus may…
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,…