Survival analysis of the association between antenatal care attendance and neonatal mortality in 57 low- and middle-income countries

Factors associated with women's satisfaction with prenatal care in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

This article aims to identify factors associated with full satisfaction with prenatal care in health services in Porto Alegre (RS), Brazil. This is a cross-sectional study with 287 women that attended prenatal care in the state capital. Women were randomly selected at two large maternity hospitals (public and private) and interviewed at their homes around 30 days after delivery, from January to August 2016. Satisfaction was measured by a Likert scale (very satisfied to very unsatisfied). Prevalence ratios (PR) were estimated by Poisson regression with robust variance, using a hierarchical model. Factors associated with greater satisfaction were higher education (PR=1.49; 95% CI: 1.08-2.06); multiprofessional care (PR=1.29; 95% CI: 1.00-1.66); receiving information about breastfeeding (PR=1.33; 95% CI: 1.05-1.68) and place of delivery (PR=1.56; 95% CI: 1.12-2.17); and women feeling comfortable asking questions and participating in decisions (PR=5.17; 95% CI: 1.79-14.96). The findings suggest that prenatal care services that offer multiprofessional care, provide guidance, and make pregnant women feel comfortable asking and deciding about their care may generate greater satisfaction.

Interventions to improve adherence to antenatal and postnatal care regimens among pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

Pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa tend to have low adherence to antenatal and postnatal care regimens, contributing to high infant and child mortality rates. Despite low adherence figures and the high returns from attending antenatal and postnatal care visits, research on interventions to improve adherence is in its infancy. Our aim was to determine the effectiveness of existing interventions to improve adherence to antenatal and postnatal care regimens among pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa.

METHODS

Full text, peer-reviewed articles, published in English and listed in PubMed or PsycINFO through January 2018 were identified in a systematic review. Studies were restricted to randomized controlled trials only and had to assess intervention impact on antenatal and postnatal care adherence, operationalized as the frequency of visits attended. Two reviewers independently screened papers for inclusion and evaluated the risk of systematic error in each study using the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Any discrepancies were reconciled by a third independent reviewer.

RESULTS

The initial search generated 186 articles, of which, five met our inclusion criteria. Due to the small sample size and methodological variation across studies, a pooled effect size estimate could not be obtained. Therefore, effects on antenatal and postnatal care adherence were examined and reported at the individual study level. None of the interventions were directly aimed at improving adherence, but two of the five, both behavioral interventions, demonstrated effectiveness in increasing antenatal care (rate ratio 5.86, 95% CI 2.6-13.0, p<0.0001) and postnatal care adherence (31.3%, 95% CI 15.4-47.2, p=0.0009), respectively. Three home visit interventions had no effect on antenatal care adherence. Although the risk of bias was unclear or high in some cases, it remained low in most categories across studies.

CONCLUSIONS

Results point to a large gap in the literature on interventions to address antenatal and postnatal care adherence in sub-Saharan Africa. Interventions drawing upon the executive function literature and the promising results of the behavioral interventions reviewed here are urgently needed to address these gaps.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

The review was prospectively registered with PROSPERO, id number https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=88152, on February 7, 2018.

Risk Factors for Neonatal Mortality in Preterm Newborns in The Extreme South of Brazil

Neonatal mortality still remains a complex challenge to be addressed. In Brazil, 60% of neonatal deaths occur among preterm infants with a gestational age of 32 weeks or less (≤32w). The aim of this study was to evaluate the factors involved in the high mortality rates among newborns with a gestational age ≤32w in a socioeconomically developed southern city in Brazil. Data on retrospective births and deaths (2000-2014) were analyzed from two official Brazilian national databases. The risk of neonatal death for all independent variables (mother's age and schooling, prenatal visits, birth hospital, delivery method, gestational age, and the newborn's sex, age, and birth year, gemelarity, congenital anomalies and birthplace) was assessed with a univariable and a multivariable model of Cox's semiparametric proportional hazards regression (p < 0.05). Data of 288,904 newborns were included, being 4,514 with a gestational age ≤32w. The proportion of these early newborns remained stable among all births, while the neonatal mortality rate for this group tended to decrease (p < 0.001). The adjusted risk was significantly for lower birthweight infants (mean 659.13 g) born from Caesarean (HR 0.58 [95% CI 0.47-0.71]), but it was significantly higher for heavier birth weight infants (mean 2,087.79) also born via Caesarean section (HR 3.71 [95% CI 1.5-9.15]). Newborns with lower weight seemed to benefit most from Cesarean deliveries. Effort towards reducing unacceptably high surgical deliveries must take into account cases that the operations may be lifesaving for mother and/or the baby.

Investigation of Socioeconomic Determinants on Child Death in South Asian Countries: A Panel Cointegration Analysis

This article is aimed to examine the relationship between socioeconomic factors and child mortality in South Asia because the relationship between child mortality and socioeconomic factors cannot be overlooked for better progress. Panel data were obtained from (World Development Indicators) and (Human Development Index) for the period 1990-2017. The data were quantitative. Levin, Lin, and Chu and I'm, Pesaran, and Shin test were used to check the stationarity of data. A cointegration test was applied to check the long-run association. Granger causality test was used to determine the direction of the relationship. Fully modified ordinary least squares and dynamic ordinary least squares techniques were used to examine the long-run and short-run impact of socioeconomic determinants on child mortality. The findings from this study showed the significant impact of education, unemployment, and health expenditure, access to improved water and sanitation facilities, and income inequality on child mortality. Overall results showed that there is a negative association between education and child mortality, access to improved water and access to sanitation facilities and child mortality, and health expenditure and child mortality, but there is a positive association between unemployment and income inequality with child mortality. The rate of child mortality is still very alarming in South Asian countries.

Review of the evidence for interventions to reduce perinatal mortality in low- and middle-income countries

Low- and middle-income countries contribute to the overwhelming majority of the global perinatal and neonatal mortality. There is a growing amount of literature focused on interventions aimed at reducing the healthcare gaps and thereby reducing perinatal and neonatal mortality in low- and middle-income countries. The current review synthesizes available evidence for interventions that have shown to improve perinatal and neonatal outcomes. Reduction in important gaps in the availability and utilization of perinatal care practices is needed to end preventable deaths of newborns.

Association of the quality of antenatal care with neonatal mortality: meta-analysis of individual participant data from 60 low- and middle-income countries

BACKGROUND

We investigated the quality of antenatal care (ANC) and its effect on neonatal mortality in 60 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

METHODS

We used pooled comparable cross-sectional surveys from 60 LMICs (n=651 681). Cox proportional hazards multivariable regression models and meta-regression analysis were used to assess the effect of the quality of ANC on the risk of neonatal mortality. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to describe the time-to-event patterns of neonatal survival in each region.

RESULTS

Pooled estimates from meta-analysis showed a 34% lower risk of neonatal mortality for children of women who were attended to at ANC by skilled personnel. Sufficient ANC advice lowered the risk of neonatal mortality by 20%. Similarly, children of women who had adequate ANC had a 39% lower risk of neonatal mortality. The pooled multivariable model showed an association of neonatal mortality with the ANC quality index (HR 0.85, 95% CI 0.77 to 0.93).

CONCLUSIONS

Improvement in the quality of ANC can reduce the risk of neonatal mortality substantially. Pursuing sustainable development goal 3, which aims to reduce neonatal mortality to 12 per 1000 live births by 2030, should improve the quality of ANC women receive in LMICs.

Neonatal mortality and its association with antenatal care visits among live births in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Even though neonatal mortality is reduced from time to time, the problem is still prevalent in Ethiopia. Despite a few studies tried to show the extent of neonatal mortality in Ethiopia, the pooled estimation of neonatal mortality remains inconclusive and inconsistent. Thus, this systematic review and meta-analysis were intended to determine the pooled prevalence of neonatal mortality rate and its association with antenatal care visits in Ethiopia.Methods: Studies were retrieved through reputable search engines in; CINAHL, Embase, Medline, PubMed, Google Scholar, ISI Web of Science, ScienceDirect, and SCOPUS in accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA). Newcastle-Ottawa Quality assessment tool for cross-sectional studies was used for critical appraisal of studies which were included. Risk of Bias in nonrandomized studies of Interventions (ROBINS-I) tool was also used to assess the risk of bias. Random-effects meta-analysis was used to estimate the level of pooled prevalence of neonatal mortality and its association with antenatal care visits at 95% confidence interval and with its respective odds ratio (OR). Meta-regression was also carried out to identify the potential source of heterogeneity. Begs and egger test followed by trim and fill analysis were used to determine publication bias. Subgroup analyses, based on study setting, were also carried out.Result: A total of 5839 articles were identified through searching, of which 11 articles representing participants were included in the final analysis. The average pooled prevalence of neonatal mortality in Ethiopia was 6.78% (CI: 4.45, 9.12). Subgroup analysis was undertaken and the pooled estimate of neonatal mortality among these communities based studies was 2.56% and in hospital-based study it was 11.8%. Neonatal mortality was more significant among mothers who had antenatal visits of less than three times during their pregnancy period with OR of 1.76 (95% CI: 1.42, 3.16).Conclusion: The pooled prevalence of neonatal mortality in Ethiopia was slightly low compared to the national 2016 demographic Health Survey of the country. Therefore, the government of Ethiopia should influence the health sector to give attention for increasing antenatal care visits and further research is needed to investigate further factors of neonatal mortality.

Associations of women's empowerment with neonatal, infant and under-5 mortality in low- and /middle-income countries: meta-analysis of individual participant data from 59 countries

Background

Child survival and women’s empowerment are global public health concerns and important sustainable development goals (SDGs). Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) have the largest burden of both phenomena. The aim of this study is to investigate a measure of women’s empowerment at individual and population levels and its potential associations with neonatal, infant and under-5 mortality at national and regional levels in 59 LMICs.

Methods

We used pooled population-based cross-sectional surveys from 59 LMICs (n=6 12 529) conducted from 2000 to 2015 using standardised protocols. We constructed individual-level women’s empowerment index (ILWEI) and population-level women’s empowerment index (PLWEI) for LMICs and investigated the potential associations of these measures with neonatal, infant and under-5 mortality using two-stage random-effect individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis.

Results

The pooled neonatal mortality rate was 24 per 1000 live births. Infant and under-5 mortality rates were 43 and 55/1000 live births, respectively. In the pooled sample, 61.6% and 19.9% of women had autonomy regarding their healthcare and household decision-making, respectively, whereas 56.0% rejected domestic violence against women for any reason. IPD meta-analysis showed that children of women with low ILWEI had a higher risk of neonatal (OR: 1.18, 95% CI 1.14 to 1.22), infant (OR: 1.12, 95% CI 1.08 to 1.17) and under-5 (OR: 1.12, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.18) mortality compared with children of high ILWEI. Similar relationships were found across most of the regions as well as between PLWEI and all the three outcomes.

Conclusions

Women’s empowerment at individual and population levels is associated with neonatal, infant and under-5 mortality in LMICs. Our study underscores the importance of women’s empowerment in accelerating progress towards the attainment of the SDG targets for child survival in LMICs. Multi-sectoral and concerted efforts are necessary to eliminate preventable child mortality in these countries.

The Impact of the Interventions for 4+ Antenatal Care Service Utilization in the Democratic Republic of Congo: A Decision Tree Analysis

Background

In 2015, the United Nations set the sustainable development goals (SDGs) with a focus on the maternal mortality ratio (MMR), to decrease the mortality rate of newborns to 70 per 100,000 by 2030. Despite efforts to achieve the SDGs, the MMR in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was 693 per 100,000 in 2015-the sixth highest in the world and higher than the average (547 per 100,000) of sub-Saharan Africa.

Objectives

The primary aim was to identify effect factors of 4⁺ antenatal care (ANC) of the maternal and child health care (MCH) project focused on reproductive women in the DRC.

Methods

This study used a before and after study design and focused on ANC utilization of reproductive age women in Kenge, DRC. This study provided the MCH intervention based on three phases of the Three Delays Model from 2014 to 2017. We interviewed 2,663 participants from 2014 to 2017. This study used the decision tree node for prediction of 4⁺ ANC utilization.

Findings

The decision tree showed that hand-washing (1.000) was the most important factor for receiving 4⁺ ANC services in the midline I survey, followed by writing skills (0.891), satisfaction with health facilities (0.869), age (0.782), and awareness of interventions (0.621). The results of the midline II decision tree demonstrated that MCH promotion by signboard (1.000) was the most important factor for 4⁺ ANC services, followed by income (0.970), and abortion (0.894). In the third year, distance (1.000) was the most important factor, followed by abortion (0.940) and knowledge of exclusive breastfeeding (0.806).

Conclusions

The most important factors were related to awareness. We recommend conducting interventions focused on improving awareness increase 4⁺ ANC utilization. Sustainability intervention for improving the 4⁺ ANC utilization requires that focus on the infrastructure, such as accessibility and knowledge, of reproductive women.

Prevalence of and factors associated with under-5 mortality in South Asia

BACKGROUND

This study investigated the prevalence of and the factors associated with under-5 mortality across five South Asian countries.

METHODS

Cross-sectional pooled data from 1999 through 2014 collected from the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) in five South Asian countries (Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal and Pakistan) were used. Associations of under-5 mortality with sociodemographic characteristics and maternal and child factors were studied using the Cox proportional-hazard method. The estimates were presented as hazard ratios (HR) and their 95% CIs. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to describe time-to-event of under-5 survival patterns.

RESULTS

Overall, 15-year prevalence of under-5 mortality in South Asian countries was 10%, with Nepal having the highest prevalence (11.1%) and the Maldives the lowest (5%). In a multivariable model in pooled data, older age of mother (HR 0.70, 95% CI 0.68-0.72), being employed (HR 1.09, 95% CI 1.07-1.12), having a higher level of education (HR 0.36, 95%, CI 0.32-0.40) and having a husband with higher level of education (HR 0.74, 95% CI 0.70-0.78) were significantly associated with under-5 mortality. Factors associated with under-5 mortality were mostly common across countries.

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of under-5 mortality is still high in South Asia. Most of the studied sociodemographic factors were associated with under-5 mortality and were common across South Asian countries.

Impact of group antenatal care (G-ANC) versus individual antenatal care (ANC) on quality of care, ANC attendance and facility-based delivery: A pragmatic cluster-randomized controlled trial in Kenya and Nigeria

Background

Low quality and frequency of antenatal care (ANC) are associated with lower uptake of facility-based deliveries—a key intervention to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality. We implemented group ANC (G-ANC), an alternative service delivery model, in Kenya and Nigeria, to assess its impact on quality and attendance at ANC and uptake of facility-based delivery.

Methods

From October 2016‒January 2018, we conducted a facility-based, pragmatic, cluster-randomized controlled trial with 20 clusters per country. We recruited women <24 weeks gestation during their first ANC visit and enrolled women at intervention facilities who agreed to attend G-ANC in lieu of routine individual ANC. The G-ANC model consisted of five monthly 2-hour meetings with clinical assessments alongside structured gestationally specific group discussions and activities. Quality of care was defined as receipt of eight specific ANC interventions. Data were obtained through facility records and self-report during a home-based postpartum survey. Analysis was by intention to treat.

Findings

All women who completed follow up are included in the analysis (Nigeria: 1018/1075 enrolled women [94.7%], Kenya: 826/1013 [81.5%]). In Nigeria women in the intervention arm were more likely to have a facility-based delivery compared to those in the control arm (Nigeria: 76.7% [391/510] versus 54.1% [275/508]; aOR 2.30, CI 1.51–3.49). In both countries women in the intervention arm were more likely than those in the control arm to receive quality ANC (Nigeria: aOR 5.8, CI 1.98–17.21, p<0.001; Kenya: aOR 5.08, CI 2.31–11.16, p<0.001) and to attend at least four ANC visits (Nigeria: aOR 13.30, CI 7.69–22.99, p<0.001; Kenya: aOR 7.12, CI 3.91–12.97, p<0.001).

Conclusions

G-ANC was associated with higher facility-based delivery rates in Nigeria, where those rates associated with individual ANC were low. In both Kenya and Nigeria it was associated with a higher proportion of women receiving quality ANC and higher frequency of ANC visits.

The impact of antenatal care on neonatal mortality in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background

Newborns are at greatest risk of dying at and shortly after the time of birth. Newborn mortality remains an urgent concern and is an important indicator of child health, development and well-being. Studies examining the effectiveness of antenatal care on maternal and newborn health outcomes have provided conflicting results. The aim of this review and meta-analysis was to determine the pooled effect of antenatal care on neonatal mortality in sub-Saharan Africa.

Methods

We searched PubMed, Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL and Google Scholar from September to November 2016 and then updated our search on April 13, 2019. Two independent reviewers extracted data from eligible studies. The quality of each included study was assessed using the Risk of Bias Assessment tool for Non-Randomized Studies (RoBANS). The results were reported based on risk ratio (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) using a random-effects model.

Results

Eight hundred and ninety eight studies were initially identified. During screening, 23 studies were found to be relevant for data extraction. Of these, only twelve studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were included in the analysis. In five of the twelve studies included in the analysis, antenatal care service utilization had a significant association with neonatal mortality. The pooled risk ratio by the random-effects model was 0.61 (95% CI: 0.43, 0.86) for neonates born to women who received at least one antenatal care visit by a skilled provider as compared to neonates born to women who did not receive antenatal care.

Conclusion

This review indicates that utilization of at least one antenatal care visit by a skilled provider during pregnancy reduces the risk of neonatal mortality by 39% in sub-Saharan African countries. Thus, in order to accelerate progress towards the reduction of newborn deaths, all pregnant women should receive antenatal care during pregnancy.

Determinants of trends in neonatal, post-neonatal, infant, child and under-five mortalities in Tanzania from 2004 to 2016

BACKGROUND

Under-five mortality is still a major health issue in many developing countries like Tanzania. To achieve the Sustainable Development Goal target of ending preventable child deaths in Tanzania, a detailed understanding of the risk factors for under-five deaths is essential to guide targeted interventions. This study aimed to investigate trends and determinants of neonatal, post-neonatal, infant, child and under-five mortalities in Tanzania from 2004 to 2016.

METHODS

The study used combined data from the 2004-2005, 2010 and 2015-2016 Tanzania Demographic and Health Surveys, with a sample of 25,951 singletons live births and 1585 under-five deaths. We calculated age-specific mortality rates, followed by an assessment of trends and determinants (community, socioeconomic, individual and health service) of neonatal, postneonatal, infant, child and under-five mortalities in Cox regression models. The models adjusted for potential confounders, clustering and sampling weights.

RESULTS

Between 2004 and 2016, we found that neonatal mortality rate remained unchanged, while postneonatal mortality and child mortality rates have halved in Tanzania. Infant mortality and under-five mortality rates have also declined. Mothers who gave births through caesarean section, younger mothers (< 20 years), mothers who perceived their babies to be small or very small and those with fourth or higher birth rank and a short preceding birth interval (≤2 years) reported higher risk of neonatal, postneonatal and infant mortalities.

CONCLUSION

Our study suggests that there was increased survival of children under-5 years in Tanzania driven by significant improvements in postneonatal, infant and child survival rates. However, there remains unfinished work in ending preventable child deaths in Tanzania.

New evidence on the impact of the quality of prenatal care on neonatal and infant mortality in India

Evidence on the impact of the quality of prenatal care on childhood mortality is limited in developing countries, including India. Therefore, using nationally representative data from the latest round of the National Family Health Survey (2015–16), this study examined the impact of the quality of prenatal care on neonatal and infant mortality in India using a multivariable binary logistic regression model. The effect of the essential components of prenatal care services on neonatal and infant mortality were also investigated. The results indicate that improvement in the quality of prenatal care is associated with a decrease in neonatal (OR: 0.93, 95% CI: 0.91–0.97) and infant (OR: 0.94, 95% CI: 0.92–0.96) mortality in India. Tetanus toxoid vaccination, consumption of iron–folic acid tablets during pregnancy and having been weighed during pregnancy were statistically associated with a lower risk of neonatal and infant mortality. Educating women on pregnancy complications was also associated with a lower risk of neonatal mortality. No effect of blood pressure examination, blood test and examination of the abdomen during pregnancy were found on either of the two indicators of childhood mortality. Although the coverage of prenatal care has increased dramatically in India, the quality of prenatal care is still an area of concern. There is therefore a need to ensure high-quality prenatal care in India.

Maternal and newborn health services utilization in Jimma Zone, Southwest Ethiopia: a community based cross-sectional study

Background

Majority of causes of maternal and newborn mortalities are preventable. However, poor access to and low utilization of health services remain major barriers to optimum health of the mothers and newborns. The objectives of this study were to assess maternal and newborn health services utilization and factors affecting mothers’ health service utilization.

Methods

A community based cross-sectional survey was carried out on randomly selected mothers who gave birth within a year preceding the survey. The survey was supplemented with key informant interviews of experts/health professionals. Multivariable logistic model was used to identify factors associated with service utilization. Adjusted odds ratios (AORs) were used to assess the strength of the associations at p-value ≤0.05. The qualitative data were summarized thematically.

Results

A total of 789 (99.1% response rate) mothers participated in the study. The proportion of the mothers who got at least one antennal care (ANC) visit, institutional delivery and postnatal care (PNC) were 93.3, 77.4 and 92.0%, respectively. Three-forth (74.2%) of the mothers started ANC lately and only 47.5% of them completed ANC₄+ visits. Medium (4–6) family size (AOR: 2.3; 95% CI: 1.1, 4.9), decision on ANC visits with husband (AOR: 30.9; 95% CI: 8.3, 115.4) or husband only (AOR: 15.3; 95%CI: 3.8, 62.3) and listening to radio (AOR: 2.5; 95%CI: 1.1, 5.6) were associated with ANC attendance.

Mothers whose husbands read/write (AOR: 1.6; 95% CI: 1.1, 2.), attended formal education (AOR: 2.8; 95% CI: 1.1, 6.8), have positive attitudes (AOR: 10.2; 95% CI: 25.9), living in small (AOR: 3.0; 95% CI: 1.2, 7.6) and medium size family (AOR: 2.3; 95% CI: 1.2, 4.1) were more likely to give birth in-health facilities. The proportion of PNC checkups among mothers who delivered in health facilities and at home were 92.0 and 32.5%, respectively. The key informants mentioned that home delivery, delayed arrival of the mothers, unsafe delivery settings, shortage of skilled personnel and supplies were major obstacles to maternal health services utilization.

Conclusions

Health information communication targeting husbands may improve maternal and newborn health services utilization. In service training of personnel and equipping health facilities with essential supplies can improve the provider side barriers.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12884-019-2335-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Prenatal care in Southern Brazil: coverage, trend and disparities

OBJECTIVE

To estimate coverage, examine trend and assess the disparity reduction regarding household income during prenatal care between mothers living in Rio Grande, state of Rio Grande do Sul, in 2007, 2010, 2013 and 2016.

METHODS

This study included all recent mothers living in this municipality, between 1/1 and 12/31 of those years, who had a child weighing more than 500 grams or 20 weeks of gestational age in one of the only two local maternity hospitals. Trained interviewers applied, still in the hospital and up to 48 hours after delivery, a unique and standardized questionnaire, seeking to investigate maternal demographic and reproductive characteristics, the socioeconomic conditions of the family and the assistance received during pregnancy and childbirth. To assess the adequacy of prenatal care, the criteria proposed by Takeda were used, which considers only the number of prenatal appointments and gestational age at initiation, and by Silveira et al., who in addition to these two variables, considers the achievement of some laboratory tests. Chi-square tests were used to compare proportions and assess the linear trend.

RESULTS

The total of 10,669 recent mothers were included in this survey (96.8% of the total). Prenatal coverage substantially increased between 2007 and 2016. According to Takeda, it rose from 69% to 80%, while for Silveira et al., it increased from 21% to 55%. This improvement occurred for all income groups (p < 0.01). The disparity between the extreme categories of income reduced, according to Takeda, and increased according to Silveira et al.

CONCLUSIONS

The provision of prenatal care, considering only the number of appointments and the early start, occurred in greater proportion among the poorest. However, only the richest recent mothers were contemplated with more elaborate care, such as laboratory tests, which increased the disparities in the provision of prenatal care.

Women's empowerment and the use of antenatal care services: analysis of demographic health surveys in five Southeast Asian countries

Women's empowerment and use of antenatal care (ANC) services remain important in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). This assessed the association between women's empowerment and ANC use in five ASEAN countries. ANC information for the most recent births of 29,444 currently married women in the last 5 years preceding the Demographic Health Survey was analyzed (Cambodia [DHS2014], Indonesia [DHS2012], Myanmar [DHS2015-2016], Philippines [DHS2013], and Timor-Leste [DHS2009]). Analyses used multiple logistic regression adjusting for complex sampling designs. The number of ANC visits was positively associated with labor-force participation in Cambodia, the Philippines, and Timor-Leste; with disagreement with justification for wife beating and women's knowledge level in Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar; and with women's decision-making power in Cambodia and Indonesia. The association of women's empowerment variables with timing of the first ANC visit was not as evident as that for number of ANC visits. Compared to adult mothers, adolescent mothers with medium knowledge level had less odds of attending ≥4 ANC in Cambodia, and adolescent mothers with the poorest labor-force participation had lower odds of attending the first ANC early in Myanmar. Tailored policy on women's improved access to labor force and health information in each country may be needed to improve ANC use.

Antenatal care and caesarean sections: trends and inequalities in four population-based birth cohorts in Pelotas, Brazil, 1982-2015

BACKGROUND

Antenatal care and correctly indicated caesarean section can positively impact on health outcomes of the mother and newborn. Our objective was to describe how coverage and inequalities for these interventions changed from 1982 to 2015 in Pelotas, Brazil.

METHODS

Using perinatal data from the 1982, 1993, 2004 and 2015 Pelotas birth cohorts, we assessed antenatal care coverage and caesarean section rates over time. Antenatal care indicators included the median number of visits, the prevalence of mothers attending at least six visits and the proportion who started antenatal care in the first trimester of pregnancy and attended at least six visits. We described these outcomes according to income quintiles and maternal skin colour, to identify inequalities. We described overall, private sector and public sector caesarean section rates. Differences in prevalence were tested using chi-square testing and median differences using Kruskal-Wallis testing.

RESULTS

From 1982 to 2015, the median number of antenatal care visits and the prevalence of mothers attending at least six visits increased in all income quintiles and skin colour groups. Inequalities were reduced, but not eliminated. The overall proportion of caesarean births increased from 27.6% in 1982 to 65.1% in 2015, when 93.9% of the births in the private sector were by caesarean section. Absolute income-related inequalities in caesarean sections increased over time.

CONCLUSIONS

Special attention should be given to the antenatal care of poor and Black women in order to reduce inequalities. The explosive increase in caesarean sections requires radical changes in delivery care policies, in order to reverse the current trend.

Analysis of socioeconomic differences in the quality of antenatal services in low and middle-income countries (LMICs)

The desired results of increasing access and availability of antenatal care (ANC) services may not be realized if the quality of care offered is not adequate. We analyzed the content/quality of antenatal care to determine whether there are socioeconomic (education and wealth) inequalities in the services provided in 59 low and middle income countries in six WHO regions–Africa, East Asia and Pacific, Europe and Central Asia, Latin America and Caribbean, Middle East and South Asia. We aggregated the most recent (2005–2015) Demographic and Health Survey for each country. The quality of content was measured on eight recommended ANC services–(1) monitoring of blood pressure; (2) tetanus injection; (3) urine analysis for protein; (4) blood test; (5) information about danger signs (6); weight (7); height measurements and (8) provision of iron-folate supplement. Descriptive and Poisson regression techniques were applied to analyse the data. We found considerable wealth and educational differences prior to controlling for known covariates. Between wealth and education, however, the disparities in the latter are larger than the former. Whereas the socioeconomic differences remained at post adjusting for residence, place and number of antenatal care, parity and region, the magnitude of change was minimal. Higher number of ANC content was provided in “other” forms of private facilities; the Latin America and Caribbean region recorded the highest number of content compared to the other regions. The hypothesized socioeconomic status on content/number of ANC services was generally supported, although the associations are substantially constrained to other variables. Efforts are made to increase the number and timing of ANC services; due recognition is needed for the content offered.