Background: The first month is the most crucial period for child survival. Neonatal mortality continues to remain high with little improvement over the years in Sub-Saharan Africa, including Ethiopia. This region shows the least progress in reducing neonatal mortality and continues to be a significant public health issue. In this study setting, the causes and predictors of neonatal death in the neonatal intensive care units are not well documented. Hence, this study aimed to determine the causes and predictors of neonatal mortality among infants admitted to neonatal intensive care units in eastern Ethiopia.Methods: A facility-based in prospective follow-up study was conducted among neonates admitted to neonatal intensive care units of public hospitals of eastern Ethiopia from November 1 to December 30, 2018. Data were collected using a pretested structured questionnaire and a follow-up checklist. The main outcomes and causes of death were set by pediatricians and medical residents. EpiData 3.1 and Statistical Package for Social Sciences Version 25 software were used for data entry and analysis, respectively. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify the predictors of facility-based neonatal mortality.Results: The proportion of facility-based neonatal mortality was 20% (95% CI:16.7-23.8%). The causes of death were complications of preterm birth (28.58%), birth asphyxia (22.45%), neonatal infection (18.36%), meconium aspiration syndrome (9.18%), respiratory distress syndrome (7.14%), and congenital malformation (4.08%). Low birth weight, preterm births, length of stay of the neonatal intensive care unit, low 5 min APGAR score, hyperthermia, and initiation of feeding were predictors of neonatal death among infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care units of public hospitals in eastern Ethiopia. Conclusions:The proportion of facility-based neonatal deaths was unacceptably high. The main causes of death were preventable and treatable. Hence, improving the timing and quality of antenatal care is essential for early detection, anticipating high-risk newborns, and timely interventions. Furthermore, early initiation of feeding and better referral linkage to tertiary health facilities could lead to a reduction in neonatal death in this setting.

Background: The first month is the most crucial period for child survival. Neonatal mortality continues to remain high with little improvement over the years in Sub-Saharan Africa, including Ethiopia. This region shows the least progress in reducing neonatal mortality and continues to be a significant public health issue. In this study setting, the causes and predictors of neonatal death in the neonatal intensive care units are not well documented. Hence, this study aimed to determine the causes and predictors of neonatal mortality among infants admitted to neonatal intensive care units in eastern Ethiopia. Methods: A facility-based prospective follow-up study was conducted among neonates admitted to neonatal intensive care units in public hospitals in eastern Ethiopia from November 1 to December 30, 2018. Data were collected using a pre-tested structured questionnaire and a follow-up checklist. The main outcomes and causes of death were set by pediatricians and medical residents. Epi-Data 3.1 and Statistical Package for Social Sciences Version 25 software were used for data entry and analysis, respectively. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify the predictors of facility-based neonatal mortality.Results: The proportion of facility-based neonatal mortality was 20%(95% CI:16.7-23.8%). The causes of death were complications of preterm birth (28.58%), birth asphyxia (22.45%), neonatal infection (18.36%), meconium aspiration syndrome (9.18%), respiratory distress syndrome (7.14%), and congenital malformation (4.08%). Low birth weight, preterm births, length of stay in the neonatal intensive care unit, low 5 minutes APGAR score, hyperthermia, and initiation of feeding were predictors of neonatal death among infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care units in public hospitals in eastern Ethiopia.Conclusions: The proportion of facility-based neonatal deaths was unacceptably high. The main causes of death were preventable and treatable. Hence, improving the timing and quality of antenatal care is essential for early detection, anticipating high-risk newborns, and timely interventions. Furthermore, early initiation of feeding and better referral linkage to tertiary health facilities could lead to a reduction in neonatal death in this setting.

Background Institutional delivery is one of the key interventions that have been proven to reduce maternal and newborn morbidity and mortality. Ethiopia has initiated different efforts to enhance the acceptance of institutional delivery. In spite of this, the number of institutional deliverys is still very low in Ethiopia and varies from region to region. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the utilization of institutional delivery and of factors associated with it among mothers in Hossana Town, Southern Ethiopia. Methods This study was a community-based cross-sectional study of mothers who had given birth within 12 months before the study. Data were collected using a pretested questionnaire. During the study period, 403 mothers were selected using the systematic random sampling technique. Data entry was done using EpiData (version 3.1), and data were exported to SPSS (version 24) for analysis. Both bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to identify the associated factors at 95% CI. Results This study revealed that 53.6% of mothers delivered their infants at health facilities. The factors associated with the institutional delivery were primigravidas (AOR = 3.9; 95% CI, 1.4–4.7), the availability of antenatal care (AOR = 3.4; 95%CI, 1.7–7.2), having planned pregnancies (AOR = 3.9; 95%CI, 1.7–9.3) and the involvement of both parents in decision making (AOR = 2.4; 95%CI, 1.4–2.5). However, when only the mother was involved in the decision making regarding the delivery, the figure decreased by 70% (AOR = 0.3; 95%CI, 0.1–0.8). Conclusions The findings of this study indicate that high numbers of births occur without skilled attendants or are non- institutional delivery. In terms of the factors that are associated with institutional delivery, the study suggests that strengthening sustained provision of education during antenatal care and at community levels are crucial.

Background The first month is the most crucial period for child survival. Neonatal mortality continues to remain high with little improvement over the years in Sub-Saharan Africa including Ethiopia. This region shows the least progress to reducing neonatal mortality and it continues to be a significant public health issue. The facilities-based causes and predictors of neonatal death in the neonatal intensive care unit are not well documented in this study setting. Hence, the aim of this study was to determine the causes and predictors of neonatal mortality among infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care units in Eastern Ethiopia. Methods Facilities-based prospective follow-up study was conducted among neonates admitted to the neonatal intensive care units of public hospitals in Eastern Ethiopia from November to December 2018. Data were collected using a pre-tested, structured questionnaire and a follow-up checklist. The main outcomes and causes of death were set by pediatricians and medical residents. Epi-Data 3.1 and Statistical Package for Social Sciences Version 25 software were used for data entry and analysis respectively. Multivariable logistic regression was used to find out the predictors of facilities-based neonatal mortality. Results The proportion of facilities-based neonatal mortality was 20%(95% CI: 16.7-23.8%) The causes of death were complications of preterm birth 28.58%, birth asphyxia 22.45%, infection 18.36%, meconium aspiration syndrome 9.18%, respiratory distress syndrome 7.14% and congenital malformation 4.08%. Low birth weight, preterm births, length of stay in NICU, low 5 minute Apgar score, hyperthermia and initiation of feeding were predictors of neonatal death among infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care units in public hospitals, Eastern Ethiopia. Conclusion The proportion of facilities-based neonatal deaths was unacceptably high. The main causes of death were preventable and treatable. Hence, improving timing and quality of ANC is essential for early detection, anticipating high-risk newborns and timely interventions. Furthermore, early initiation of feeding and a better referral linkage to tertiary facilities could lead to a reduction of neonatal death in this setting.

Background: The first month is the most crucial period for child survival. Neonatal mortality is stagnated in sub-Saharan Africa including Ethiopia. And the trend in reduction is slower than infant and child mortality. The facilities-based cause and predictor of neonatal death in the neonatal intensive care unit were not well documented in this study setting. Hence the aim of this study was to determine the cause and predictors of neonatal mortality among neonates admitted in neonatal intensive care units in eastern Ethiopia. Method: Facilities-based prospective follow-up study was conducted among neonates admitted in neonatal intensive care units of public hospitals in eastern Ethiopia from November to December 2018. Data were collected using pre-tested, structured questionnaire and follow-up checklist. The main outcomes, cause of death was set by senior pediatricians and residents. Epi-Data 3.1 and SPSS 25 version software were used for entry and analysis. Binary logistic regression was used to find out the predictors of facilities-based neonatal mortality.Result: The proportion of facilities-based neonatal mortality was 20%. The top five cause of death was a complication of prematurity 49%, birth asphyxia 37.8%, infection 32.6%, meconium aspiration syndrome 17.3% and congenital malformation 6.1%. Low birth weight, preterm births, length of stay, low 5thminutes Apgar score, hyperthermia and initiation of feeding were predictors of neonatal death among Neonates admitted in neonatal intensive care units in public hospitals, eastern Ethiopia.ConclusionIn summary, the proportion of facilities-based Neonatal death was unacceptably high. The main causes of death were preventable and treatable. Hence, early detection, anticipating high-risk newborns and timely intervention is very essential. Furthermore, early initiation of feeding and a better referral linkage to tertiary facilities could contribute for reduction of neonatal death in this setting.