Introduction: Labour pain is the most severe pain that a woman ever has to face. Pain relief in childbirth is subject to many social and cultural modifiers, which continue to change. Delivery of the infant into the arms of a conscious and pain-free mother is the most exciting and rewarding moment in maternal care services. Developed nation give emphasis on continuous labour support, But in developing country pain is neglected especially managing labor pain. In a country like Ethiopia with low institutional delivery managing labour pain can help as an incentive to enhance institutional delivery rate.

Preconception care (PCC) increases the chance of couple’s being healthy and having a healthier baby. It is an important strategy to prevent maternal and perinatal complications. The level of knowledge on preconception care increases its uptake. It is also considered as an input for further intervention of reduction in maternal and neonatal mortality enabling progress towards sustainable development goals (SDGs). Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to estimate the pooled knowledge level of PCC and its association with family planning usage among women in Ethiopia. All observational studies regardless of publication status were retrieved. Important search terms were used to search articles in Google scholar, African Journals Online, CINHAL, HINARI, Science Direct, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and PubMed/Medline. Independent critical appraisal of retrieved studies was done using the Newcastle–Ottawa assessment checklist. The meta-analysis was conducted using STATA version 14 software. The I2 statistics were used to test heterogeneity, whereas publication bias was assessed by Begg’s and Egger’s tests. The results of the meta-analysis were explained in the Odds ratio (OR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) and presented using forest plots. A total of seven articles were included in the current systematic review and meta-analysis. Based on the data retrieved from the articles, 35.7% of women in Ethiopia had good knowledge about preconception care. The subgroup analysis based on region revealed the lowest (22.34%) and highest (45.06%) percentage of good knowledge on preconception care among women who were living in Amhara and Oromia regions, respectively. Moreover, women who utilized family planning services were three and more times (OR 3.65 (95% CI 2.11, 6.31)) more likely to have a good level of knowledge about preconception care. One-third of Ethiopian women had good knowledge about preconception care. Family planning utilization had a positive impact on women’s knowledge of preconception care.

Background: Episiotomy means simply a 2nd degree tear to enlarge outlet, for expulsion of the fetus with tolerable damage or injury. Historically, episiotomy has been an element of vaginal delivery, with the rationale of preventing extensive perennial tearing. Incidence varies according to parity, patient population, indication, and health care provider practicing obstetrics. Study findings showed that higher rate of episiotomy in Ethiopia.Objective: To assess the proportion of episiotomy performance and its associated factors in Axum town public health institutions 2015.Methods: Facility based cross-sectional study design was employed in three Public health institutions in Axum town, Tigray, Ethiopia 2015. Information was retrieved retrospectively from a total of 338 maternal charts that were selected using systematic random sampling technique. The data were collected using pre-tested and structured data extraction format. Using SPSS version 20 software, descriptive statistics, bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis was done and during bivariate logistic regression analysis those variables at p-value <0.2 was transferred to multivariate logistic regression analysis and during Multivariate logistic regression analysis Variables at P-value <0.05 were considered as statistically significant and AOR with 95% CI was used to control for possible confounders and to interpret the result. The result is summarized using tables, graphs and charts for different variables.Results: Out of 338 deliveries the proportion of episiotomy was 140(41.44%).The odds of episiotomy practice were 1.8 times greater among primipara when compared with multiparous women [AOR=1. 89(1.08, 3.23)], 8.9 times greater among mothers whose labor were assisted by vacuum as compared to those who delivered by normal vaginal delivery [AOR=8.99(4.25, 19.03) ], 4.7 times greater among deliveries whose fetal presentation was face when compared with vertex presentations [AOR=4. 76(1.94, 11.67)]. Conclusion:The proportion of episiotomy practice is high. Parity, face presentation, mode of delivery, Birth Attendant and 1st minute Apgar score were significantly associated with practice of episiotomy.

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