Background Although pregnancy and child birth-related complications remain a global public health concern, little is known about their prevalence and associated factors. Our study assessed pregnancy-related complications and associated factors among women attending antenatal care at a specialized maternal and child health national referral hospital in Uganda. Methodology A cross-sectional study was conducted among 285 pregnant women. Data were collected using the KoboCollect mobile application, and analysed using STATA 14. A modified poisson regression model was used for inferential statistics. Findings Out of the 285 women, 27.4% (78/285) had pregnancy-related complications. The most reported complications were anaemia, 10.9% (31/285); eclampsia, 8.1% (23/285); and still births, 4.9% (14/285). Having a higher gravidity of 4-6 (APR= 0.32, 95% CI: 0.17-0.57) and of more than 7 (APR= 0.32, 95% CI: 0.14-0.73) was negatively associated with pregnancy-related complications. Factors positively associated with pregnancy-related complications included; late first ANC (APR=1.85, 95% CI: 1.17-2.92), parity of ≥ 3 (APR= 3.69, 95% CI: 1.50-9.08) and induced abortion prior to current pregnancy (APR= 1.64, 95% CI: (1.08-2.47). Conclusion The prevalence of pregnancy-related complications was very high. Anaemia, eclampsia and still births were the most prevalent. A late first ANC, gravidity higher than 4, parity higher than 3, and history of an induced abortion prior to the current pregnancy were associated with having pregnancy-related complications. Interventions aimed at reducing maternal morbidity and mortality should aim at promoting early ANC attendance, and increasing access to safe abortion and family planning services.

BackgroundDe-sludging operators play a critical role in ensuring access to safe sanitation services. De-sludging activities, however, increase the operators’ risk of exposure to physical, chemical, ergonomic, psychological, and biological hazards, which eventually affect their health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Despite immense exposure to occupational hazards, only a few evidence-based interventions have been implemented to improve the occupational health and safety (OHS) of de-sludging operators.ObjectiveThe proposed study intends to utilise the sanitation safety planning (SSP) tool to improve the OHS of de-sludging operators in Uganda. The study aims to generate evidence of the prevalence of exposure to occupational hazards and the associated health outcomes, knowledge, attitude and uptake of OHS measures, as well as the HRQoL of de-sludging operators. The facilitators and barriers to the promotion of OHS shall also be explored.MethodsA mixed-methods study will be conducted among 356 desludging operators in the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area. A structured questionnaire pre-loaded on the KoboCollect mobile data collection application will be used to obtain information on socio-demographic characteristics, history of work-related accidents and diseases, uptake of safety measures, and health-related quality of life. A total of 10 focus group discussions (FGDs) will be conducted among desludging operators, to understand how they cope with associated occupational hazards. In addition, 25 in-depth interviews (IDIs) will be conducted among purposively selected employers to understand the barriers and facilitators of provision and implementation of safety measures among desludging operators. Quantitative data will be analyzed using STATA version 15 while qualitative data will be transcribed verbatim and the analysis aided by the NVIVO software.Expected outcomesThe study will generate evidence of the occupational health and safety of desludging operators and the effectiveness of the SSP tool. These findings will be critical in informing the design and implementation of occupational health and safety programmes among desludging operators.