Conceptualizing pathways linking women's empowerment and prematurity in developing countries

Empowering women as enablers in public health: A quantitative-qualitative systematic review of the gender-transformative approach

Women are expected to take on multiple roles as caregivers and health care providers, but they are still often perceived as victims or beneficiaries rather than enablers. We aimed to explore women's empowerment and gender equality in public health systems and identify proactive enablers that can be incorporated into projects. A systematic review of peer-reviewed literature as well as text analysis were conducted to examine changes in perceptions of women's roles in public health projects. The authors conducted a quantitative analysis of the collected article titles, which revealed a shift in research from identifying risk factors to exploring women's autonomy in health promotion. However, our qualitative review of the articles showed that previous gender-related projects used a gender-sensitive approach that perpetuated the view of women as victims or beneficiaries rather than enablers. The concept of proactive enablers in all aspects of project planning and implementation ensures that women's roles are fully recognized and valued.

The association between pregnancy levels of blood lipids and the risk of preterm birth

Preterm labor, a condition associated with various risk factors such as a history of prior preterm birth (PTB) and multiple pregnancies, has recently seen an increasing focus on its potential link with dyslipidemia. This study aims to investigate the relationship between dyslipidemia in expectant mothers and the risks of PTB. We studied 6963 mothers who gave birth at the International Peace Maternal and Child Health Hospital of Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine in 2020, among which, 437 women had PTB. We extracted clinical and lipid data from electronic records, using multivariable logistic regression and restricted cubic spline models to explore the link between lipid concentrations (by quartiles) in pregnancy stages and PTB risk. The PTB rate was 6.3%. Early pregnancy in the PTB group showed elevated ApoA, ApoB, CHOL, LDL, and TG levels compared to controls (all P < 0.05). Late pregnancy showed no notable lipid differences. Multivariable analysis revealed elevated ApoA, TG, higher age, BMI ≥ 28 kg/m2, hypertension, assisted reproductive technology and gestational diabetes as PTB risk factors (all P < 0.05). After adjustments, higher ApoA, ApoB, CHOL and TG levels correlated with increased PTB risk. Using the lowest quartile, the adjusted ORs for early pregnancy's highest quartile of ApoA, ApoB, CHOL and TG were 1.348, 1.442, 1.442 and 2.156, respectively. Our findings indicate that dyslipemia in early pregnancy, including elevated levels of ApoA, ApoB, CHOL and TG, are associated with PTB. Managing lipid abnormalities during pregnancy may help reduce the risk of PTB.

Assessing the relationship between knowledge and the actual use of contraceptives among childbearing women in South-South Nigeria: evidence from the 2018 Nigeria demographic and health survey

BACKGROUND

Nigeria has one of the world's highest fertility rates, which is detrimental to its public health and socioeconomic growth. Despite several efforts by the country and other development partners to reduce high fertility by increasing contraceptive use, the contraceptive prevalence rate among childbearing women remains low, particularly in the South-South compared to other Southern regions. This study, therefore, assessed the relationship between knowledge of and actual use of contraception among women in South-South Nigeria.

METHODS

The study employed a cross-sectional analysis of a nationally representative weighted sub-sample of 4,553 South-South childbearing women extracted from the 2018 National Demographic and Health Survey dataset. The dataset was weighted and examined for missing values that were excluded during the analyses at univariate, bivariate, and multivariate levels. The analyses involved a baseline descriptive analysis, a chi-square test, and logistic regression models using Stata software. The results of the explanatory variables were presented as odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI).

RESULTS

Eighty-two per cent of the respondents knew at least one form of contraception, while approximately 82% never used any contraceptive method. The likelihood of using any contraceptive method increased among those who knew about contraceptives (aOR: 1.40; CI: 0.93-2.11). Also, contraceptive use was significantly higher among women and their partners who had post-primary education (aOR: 1.34; CI: 1.25-2.43 and aOR: 1.74; CI: 1.25-2.43, respectively). Furthermore, the prevalence of contraceptive use among women significantly increased with an increase in the household wealth index. Similar results were recorded among women who had five or more living children, who were residents of Rivers State, were married or lived with their partners, were aged 35 years or older, and were currently working.

CONCLUSIONS

Contraceptive knowledge was high but did not translate into actual practice among childbearing women in South-South Nigeria. The use of any contraception was highly influenced by contraceptive knowledge, education, age, marital status, place of residence, and household wealth index, among others. Therefore, some policy issues relating to contraceptive knowledge and actual adoption must be addressed to improve the low rate of contraceptive use in Nigeria.

Women's Empowerment Status in Menopausal Transition: A Cross-sectional Study

BACKGROUND

Women's empowerment status in menopausal transition is of great importance due to the increasing trend of life expectancy and population aging. This study was conducted to evaluate the empowerment status of women during the menopausal transition in Gonabad, Iran.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was conducted in Gonabad city in Northeast of Iran from April 2017 to March 2018. Cluster sampling was used for selecting 680 women who were in the menopausal transition. Demographic questionnaire and Women's Empowerment Status Questionnaire - a researcher-made questionnaire- was used for data collection. Pearson's correlation coefficient, one-way ANOVA, and linear regression were used to analyze the data using SPSS version 16; A p-value less than 0.05 was considered as significant.

RESULTS

The majority of the participants (510; 76.10%) had a high empowerment level. A high empowerment status in the family, economic, social, and health domains was observed in 499 (74.50%), 534 (79.70%), 523 (78.05%), and 493 (73.60%) participants, respectively. The majority of the participants had moderate empowerment status in political (427; 70.40%) and religious domains (464; 69.30%). There was a negative correlation between the total empowerment score and the participants' age (P&lt;0.001), husband's age (P&lt;0.001), and the number of children (P&lt;0.001). There was a positive correlation between the total empowerment score and education (P=0.003) as well as age of marriage (P=0.03).

CONCLUSION

Overall empowerment status of women in menopausal transition in Gonabad -Iran was high. However, in political and religious domains, the status was moderate. We suggest that empowered women should be invited to share their experiences with other females. Development of social networks could provide the basis for sharing the experiences of these women and helps policy makers to develop community empowerment programs.

El empoderamiento de los padres para el cuidado del hijo prematuro

Introducción: El nacimiento, la hospitalización, la transición al hogar y el cuidado de un hijo prematuro son eventos críticos para los padres Materiales y Métodos: Se llevó a cabo un estudio cualitativo descriptivo. Se realizaron entrevistas semiestructuradas entre marzo y octubre de 2020 a 4 padres y 12 madres que tuvieron la experiencia de tener un hijo prematuro. El análisis se realizó con herramientas de la teoría fundamentada. Resultados: Se identificaron cuatro categorías: Afrontando el parto prematuro, experimentando la cotidianidad de la prematurez en la unidad neonatal, empoderándose para el cuidado del hijo prematuro y cuidando en el hogar. La categoría empoderándose para el cuidado del hijo prematuro, emergió como la categoría central dentro de la experiencia. Discusión: La experiencia de tener de un hijo prematuro es compleja, dinámica e implica una alta carga emocional para los padres. El cuidado del hijo prematuro exige el desarrollo de habilidades especificas antes del alta y en este proceso el empoderamiento se constituye como aspecto central. El empoderamiento de los padres facilita la transición y se ve favorecido por el acompañamiento del personal de enfermería, la información, la vinculación con el cuidado de su hijo en la unidad neonatal, el apoyo familiar y las condiciones individuales de cada padre. Conclusiones: En la experiencia de los padres el empoderamiento para el cuidado de sus hijos prematuros se constituye como un elemento central que facilita la transición al hogar y favorece el desarrollo de habilidades para el cuidado en el hogar.

Empowerment in pregnancy: ART adherence among women living with HIV in Cape Town, South Africa

RATIONALE

Adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) is a global concern among pregnant and postpartum women living with HIV (WLHIV). Research focusing on peripartum WLHIV and how they balance adherence, engaging in HIV care, and other forms of self-care is limited. Women's empowerment theories have been applied to myriad health behaviors to understand patterns, establish mechanisms, and develop interventions; yet empowerment theory as applied to ART is under-researched.

OBJECTIVE

Seeking deeper insight into peripartum health behaviors, we examine these factors using Naila Kabeer's (1999) women's empowerment theory, which denotes resources, agency, and achievements as three primary and interrelated components of empowerment.

METHODS

Data were collected in Gugulethu, South Africa, between March and July 2018. Thirty in-depth interviews were conducted with WLHIV at 32-35 weeks of pregnancy, with topics including experiences related to ART adherence and meanings of empowerment in motherhood. Analyses had two phases: (1) inductive open-coding for emergent themes; and (2) classifying themes into Kabeer's empowerment theory.

RESULTS

Participants expressed that resources play a critical role in adherence, ranging from practical support to motivational support provided by both family and partners. Agency is experienced as a desire to be an independent mother in the often-expected event that partners withdraw support. Participants described achievements as time-oriented goals, ranging from having a baby born without HIV to living a long and productive life.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that a promising and innovative approach to improving ART adherence across the peripartum transition would focus on understanding resources as an enabling environment, build on existing feelings of agency, and highlight the lifelong goals achievable with high levels of adherence. A better understanding of how women's empowerment evolves over the course of pregnancy and into the postpartum period will support intervention development aimed at improving ART adherence and potentially additional peripartum health behaviors.

Women's empowerment and fertility preferences of married women: analysis of demographic and health survey'2016 in Timor-Leste

A recently independent state, Timor-Leste, is progressing towards socioeconomic development, prioritizing women empowerment while its increased fertility rate (4.1) could hinder the growth due to an uncontrolled population. Currently, limited evidence shows that indicators of women's empowerment are associated with fertility preferences and rates. The objective of this study was to assess the association between women empowerment and fertility preferences of married women aged 15 to 49 years in Timor-Leste using nationally representative survey data. The study was conducted using the data of the latest Timor-Leste Demographic and Health Survey 2016. The study included 4040 rural residents and 1810 urban residents of Timor-Leste. Multinomial logistic regression has been performed to assess the strength of association between the exposures indicating women's empowerment and outcome (fertility preference). After adjusting the selected covariates, the findings showed that exposures that indicate women empowerment in DHS, namely, the employment status of women, house and land ownership, ownership of the mobile phone, and independent bank account status, contraceptive use, and the attitude of women towards negotiating sexual relations are significantly associated with fertility preferences. The study shows higher the level of education, the less likely were the women to want more children, and unemployed women were with a higher number of children. Our study also found that the attitude of violence of spouses significantly influenced women's reproductive choice. However, employment had no significant correlation with decision-making opportunities and contraceptive selection due to a lack of substantial data. Also, no meaningful data was available regarding decision-making and fertility preferences. Our findings suggest that women's empowerment governs decision-making in fertility preferences, causing a decline in the fertility rate.

Perception of Person-Centred Maternity Care and Its Associated Factors Among Post-Partum Women: Evidence From a Cross-Sectional Study in Enugu State, Nigeria

Objectives: This study validated a person-centred maternity care (PCMC) scale and assessed perception of PCMC and its associated factors among post-partum women.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 450 post-partum women in two districts in Enugu State, Nigeria, using a 30-item PCMC scale. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, descriptive, bivariate and Generalized Linear Models analyses were conducted.

Results: Twenty-two items were retained in the PCMC scale with high internal reliability and goodness-of-fit indices. About 25% of women received high PCMC. Marrying at 20–29 years (β = 3.46, ρ = 0.017) and 30–49 years (β = −5.56, ρ = 0.020); self-employment (β = −7.50, ρ = 0.005); marrying government worker (β = 7.12, ρ = 0.020); starting antenatal care in the third trimester (β = −6.78, ρ = 0.003); high participation in decision-making (β = −10.41, ρ < 0.001); domestic violence experience (β = 3.60, ρ = 0.007); delivery at health centre (β = 18.10, ρ < 0.001), private/mission hospital (β = 4.01, ρ = 0.003), by non-skilled attendant (β = −16.55, ρ < 0.001) and community health worker (β = −10.30, ρ < 0.001); and pregnancy complication (β = 4.37, ρ = 0.043) influenced PCMC.

Conclusion: The PCMC scale is valid and reliable in Nigeria. PCMC requires improvement in Enugu State. This study identified factors that may be considered for inclusion in intervention strategies.

Chlamydia, gonorrhea, and incident HIV infection during pregnancy predict preterm birth despite treatment

BACKGROUND

Identifying predictors of preterm birth (PTB) in high burden regions is important as PTB is the leading cause of global child mortality.

METHODS

This analysis was nested in a longitudinal study of peripartum HIV incidence in Kenya. HIV-seronegative women enrolled in pregnancy were screened with nucleic acid amplification tests (chlamydia and gonorrhea), RPR (syphilis), wet mount microscopy (Trichomonas and yeast), and Gram stain (bacterial vaginosis); sexually transmitted infection (STI) treatment was provided. PTB predictors were determined using log binomial regression.

FINDINGS

Among 1244 mothers of liveborn infants, median age was 22 years (IQR 19 - 27), median gestational age at enrollment was 26 weeks (IQR 22 - 31) and at delivery was 39.1 weeks (IQR 37.1 - 40.9). PTB occurred in 302 women (24.3%). Chlamydia was associated with a 1.59-fold (p=0.006), gonorrhea a 1.62-fold (p=0.04) and incident HIV a 2.08-fold (p=0.02) increased prevalence of PTB. Vaginal discharge and cervical inflammation were significantly associated with PTB, as were age ≤21 (prevalence ratio [PR] =1.39, p=0.001) and any STI (PR=1.47, p=0.001). Chlamydia and incident HIV remained associated with PTB in multivariable models.

INTERPRETATION

STIs and incident HIV in pregnancy predicted PTB despite treatment, suggesting need for earlier treatment and interventions to decrease genital inflammation.

Women's Reproductive Rights Policies and Adverse Birth Outcomes: A State-Level Analysis to Assess the Role of Race and Nativity Status

INTRODUCTION

Reproductive rights policies can potentially support or inhibit individuals' abilities to attain the highest standard of reproductive and sexual health; however, research is limited on how broader social policies may differentially impact women of color and immigrants in the U.S. This study examines the associations among state-level reproductive rights policies, race, and nativity status with preterm birth and low birth weight in the U.S.

METHODS

This was a retrospective, cross-sectional analysis of all births occurring within all the 50 states and the District of Columbia using vital statistics birth record data in 2016 (N=3,945,875). Modified log-Poisson regression models with generalized estimating equations were fitted to estimate the RR of preterm birth and low birth weight associated with tertiles of the reproductive rights policies index. Analyses were conducted between 2019 and 2020.

RESULTS

Compared with women in states with the most restrictive reproductive rights policies, women living in the least restrictive states had a 7% lower low birth weight risk (adjusted RR=0.93, 95% CI=0.88, 0.99). In particular, low birth weight risk was 8% lower among Black women living in the least restrictive states than among their counterparts living in the most restrictive states (adjusted RR=0.92, 95% CI=0.86, 0.99). In addition, low birth weight risk was 6% lower among U.S.-born Black women living in the least restrictive states than among those living in the most restrictive states, but this was marginally significant (adjusted RR=0.94, 95% CI=0.89, 1.00). No other significant associations were found for race-nativity-stratified models.

CONCLUSIONS

Women living in states with fewer restrictions related to reproductive rights have lower rates of low birth weight, especially for Black women.

Women's empowerment is associated with maternal nutrition and low birth weight: evidence from Bangladesh Demographic Health Survey

Background

The burden of maternal undernutrition and low birth weight (LBW) incurs enormous economic costs due to their adverse consequences. Women’s empowerment is believed to be one of the key factors for attaining maternal and child health and nutritional goals. Our objective was to investigate the association of women’s empowerment with maternal undernutrition and LBW.

Methods

We used nationally representative data from the Bangladesh Demographic Health Survey for 2011 and 2014. We analysed 27357 women and 9234 mother-child pairs. A women’s empowerment index (WEI) was constructed using principal component analysis with five groups of indicators: a) education, b) access to socio-familial decision making, c) economic contribution and access to economic decision making, d) attitudes towards domestic violence and e) mobility. We estimated odds ratios as the measure of association between the WEI and the outcome measures using generalized estimating equations to account for the cluster level correlation.

Results

The overall prevalence of maternal undernutrition was 20% and LBW was 18%. The WEI was significantly associated with both maternal undernutrition and LBW with a dose-response relationship. The adjusted odds of having a LBW baby was 32% [AOR (95% CI): 0.68 (0.57, 0.82)] lower in the highest quartile of the WEI relative to the lowest quartile. Household wealth significantly modified the effect of the WEI on maternal nutrition; in the highest wealth quintile, the odds of maternal undernutrition was 54% [AOR (95% CI): 0.46 (0.33, 0.64)] lower while in the lowest wealth quintile the odds of undernutrition was only 18% [AOR (95% CI): 0.82 (0.67, 1.00)] lower comparing the highest WEI quartile with the lowest WEI quartile. However, the absolute differences in prevalence of undernutrition between the highest and lowest WEI quartiles were similar across wealth quintiles (6–8%).

Conclusions

This study used a comprehensive measure of women’s empowerment and provides strong evidence that low levels of women’s empowerment are associated with maternal undernutrition as well as with delivering LBW babies in Bangladesh. Therefore, policies to increase empowerment of women would contribute to improved public health.

Ethnic disparity and exposure to supplements rather than adverse childhood experiences linked to preterm birth in Pakistani women

BACKGROUND

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with prenatal mental health and negative pregnancy outcomes in high income countries, but whether the same association exists in Pakistan, a low- to middle-income (LMI) country, remains unclear.

METHODS

Secondary data analyses of a prospective longitudinal cohort study examining biopsychosocial measures of 300 pregnant women at four sites in Karachi, Pakistan. A predictive multiple logistic regression model for preterm birth (PTB; i.e., <37 weeks' gestation) was developed from variables significantly (P < 0.05) or marginally (P < 0.10) associated with PTB in the bivariate analyses.

RESULTS

Of the 300 women, 263 (88%) returned for delivery and were included in the current analyses. The PTB rate was 11.1%. We found no association between ACE and PTB. Mother's education (P = 0.011), mother's ethnicity (P = 0.010), medications during pregnancy (P = 0.006), age at birth of first child or current age if primiparous (P = 0.049) and age at marriage (P = 0.091) emerged as significant in bivariate analyses. Mother's ethnicity and taking medications remained predictive of PTB in the multivariate model.

LIMITATIONS

Findings are limited by the relatively small sample size which precludes direct testing for possible interactive effects.

CONCLUSIONS

In sum, pathways to PTB for women in LMI countries may differ from those observed in high-income countries and may need to be modelled differently to include behavioural response to emotional distress and socio-cultural contexts.

Persisting Regional Disparities in Modern Contraceptive Use and Unmet Need for Contraception among Nigerian Women

Background

Evidence suggests that equitable provision of contraceptive services can help women achieve their reproductive goals and has significant impact on reducing the rates abortion and unintended pregnancy at large. However, regional disparities continue to persist on top of low family planning prevalence which is a critical public health challenge for fast growing populations like Nigeria.

Objectives

The present study aimed to explore the prevalence of (1) nonuse of modern contraceptives, (2) unmet need for contraception, and (3) regional disparities in these two.

Methods

The present study used cross-sectional data obtained from the Nigeria Demographic and Health Surveys conducted in 2003, 2008, and 2013. Participants were women of reproductive of age (15-49 years) regardless of marital status. Regional disparities of nonuse of modern contraceptives and unmet need were analysed by descriptive and multivariate regression methods.

Results

In the pooled sample of 79,656 participants during 2003, 2008, and 2013, 88.6% reported not using any modern methods, and 13.5% reported having unmet need for contraception. The prevalence rates of nonuse were, respectively, 91.8%, 90.6%, and 88.6% and those of unmet need were 14.2%, 16.6%, and 13.5% in the years 2003, 2008, and 2013. Significant differences were observed in the odds of reporting nonuse and unmet need for contraception across the geopolitical zones.

Conclusions

The rates of nonuse of contraception are remarkably high among women in Nigeria with significant disparities across the six geopolitical zones. Efforts should be made to address the regional disparities in order to achieve the goals of universal coverage of family planning services in the country.

Predictors of person-centered maternity care: the role of socioeconomic status, empowerment, and facility type

BACKGROUND

Low use of maternal health services, as well as poor quality care, contribute to the high maternal mortality in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). In particular, poor person-centered maternity care (PCMC), which captures user experience, contributes both directly to pregnancy outcomes and indirectly through decreased demand for services. While many studies have examined disparities in use of maternal health services, few have examined disparities in quality of care, and none to our knowledge has empirically examined disparities in PCMC in SSA. The aim of this study is to examine factors associated with PCMC, particularly the role of household wealth, personal empowerment, and type of facility.

METHODS

Data are from a survey conducted in western Kenya in 2016, with women aged 15 to 49 years who delivered in the 9 weeks preceding the survey (N = 877). PCMC is operationalized as a summative score based on responses to 30 items in the PCMC scale capturing dignity and respect, communication and autonomy, and supportive care.

RESULTS

We find that net of other factors; wealthier, employed, literate, and married women report higher PCMC than poorer, unemployed, illiterate, and unmarried women respectively. Also, women who have experienced domestic violence report lower PCMC than those who have never experienced domestic violence. In addition, women who delivered in health centers and private facilities reported higher PCMC than those who delivered in public hospitals. The effect of employment and facility type is conditional on wealth, and is strongest for the poorest women. Poor women who are unemployed and poor women who deliver in higher-level facilities receive the lowest quality PCMC.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings imply the most disadvantaged women receive the lowest quality PCMC, especially when they seek care in higher-level facilities. Interventions to reduce disparities in PCMC are essential to improve maternal outcomes among disadvantaged groups.