Background: Birth preparedness is the advance preparation made by an expectant mother which ensures access to skilled care. In Africa, the risk of pregnancy related deaths is 300 times more than in the developed world. In Kenya, out of 10 expectant mothers who access antenatal care services only 4 deliver in a health facility.Methods: This was a descriptive cross sectional study conducted at outpatient Maternal Child Health and Family Planning Clinic at Kerugoya County Hospital. The study utilized convenience sampling technique to determine the study population. The research instruments were an In-depth interview guide and semi-structured questionnaires. Data was managed using SPSS and analysis done using descriptive statistics and Chi-square tests. Statistical significance was set at p<0.05.Results: A sample of 202 women participated in the study. 47.5% of the participants were adequately prepared for birth. Having a higher level of education was significantly associated with birth preparedness (p=0.021). The number of children per woman had a significant influence on level of birth preparedness with women who had no children less likely to be prepared for birth compared to those with one or more children (p=0.002). Clients who attended Antenatal Care (ANC) at least 3 times were prepared for birth compared to those who visited either once or twice (p=0.027).Conclusions: Overall, women of reproductive age lack birth preparedness. There is therefore need to enhance birth preparedness awareness campaigns at ANC visits targeting women in their third trimester.
Background: Children from nomadic pastoralist communities might not receive all the recommended doses of vaccines at age-appropriate times due to limited access to immunization services. Skipped, delayed or missed vaccination doses result in under vaccination which in turn make children vulnerable to preventable diseases. The purpose of present study was to establish completion timeliness and under-vaccination of all the recommended childhood vaccinations in a nomadic pastoralist community.Methods: Authors used a cluster sampling technique to identify children aged 0 to 24 months at the household level. Vaccine completion was the accumulation of the required number of doses by infants irrespective of the timing. Timeliness was vaccines administered within the recommended age range. Under vaccination was the sum total of days a delayed vaccine was given after the recommended age range.Results: Completion of all individual antigens did not meet the target of 90%. The mean number of days a child remained under-vaccinated in days was: OPV0, 20 days; BCG, 39 days; measles vaccine, 47 days; PVC3, 121 days; pentavalent, 117 days, and rotavirus, 103 days. Approximately 42% were severely under-vaccinated for more than six months. Vaccine-specific under-vaccination of more than six months was: pentavalent 3, 20%; PCV 3, 14%; OPV 3, 9.5%; BCG, 3%, and measles vaccine 20%. Overall children remained under-vaccinated for 185 days.Conclusions: A significant proportion of children remained under vaccinated for extended periods leaving them at risk during a vulnerable period of their life.
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