To reduce the second delay contributing to maternal mortality, maternity waiting homes have been recommended for implementation especially in remote areas to help improve access to facility-based skilled delivery. Evidence of its effectiveness, however, is limited. This systematic review, therefore, aims to assess the effectiveness of the Maternity waiting home strategy in increasing utilization of facility delivery. Search for relevant articles was conducted on PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, Ebscohost, and Science Direct from database inception to March 30, 2021. Two reviewers independently screened the articles and assessed the quality of the studies. The identified maternity waiting home interventions and their effectiveness in improving facility-based delivery uptake were narratively synthesized and reported following the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis reporting guidelines. The search yielded 670 articles of which five studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The three of five studies revealed that there is a significant association between Maternity waiting home use and utilization of facility-based delivery. The quality of the Maternity waiting homes significantly improved facility-based delivery uptake. Maternity Waiting Homes appear to be promising in decreasing barriers to skilled delivery attendance however the quality of evidence is low. More interventional studies of robust design are needed to clearly demonstrate its effectiveness.

Background: Heart disease in pregnancy is one of the leading causes of maternal mortality and morbidity in developing countries. However, the characteristics of the disease vary between countries and regions. This study aimed to present the characteristics of pregnant women with heart disease in an economically advantageous region of a developing country.Design and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using data from the Weekly Report of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department to assess pregnant women with heart disease characteristics and pregnancy outcomes. A total sample of 69 pregnant women with heart disease regarding their gestational age was included in the study. Variables observed were maternal characteristics, heart disease's clinical parameters, and maternal and neonatal outcomes. Chi-square test was used to examine the different characteristics of congenital and acquired heart disease groups.Results: The prevalence of cardiac disease in pregnancy was 5.19%. Fifty-three point six percent of pregnant women with heart disease were suffered from congenital heart disease (CHD), while 46.4% were acquired heart disease (AHD). Most labor methods were Cesarean delivery, and 69.6% of women experienced cardiac complications. Maternal death was reported in 8.69% of cases. Four cases were CHD complicated by pulmonary hypertension, which leads to Eisenmenger syndrome. Two other cases were AHD complicated by Peripartum Cardiomyopathies. Although statistically insignificant, complications are more common in the AHD group than CHD.Conclusion: Cardiac disease prevalence in pregnancy is considered high, with CHD as the most common case, which significantly differs from other developing countries.