BackgroundBirth weight is an important determinant of child survival and development. So far, the prevalence and traditional maternal feeding practice correlates of low birth weight have not been explored well in Ethiopia. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence and associated factors of low birth weight among mothers who delivered at governmental hospitals, Northern, Ethiopia.MethodsA cross-sectional mixed study design was carried out in 3 zonal hospitals among 308 mothers and their respective live born baby consecutively using interviewer administered piloted questionnaire and 3 focus group discussions were conducted for the qualitative part. The mothers were interviewed and assessed within 6 hours of delivery; all babies were weighed on standard beam balance from Aug 2 to Sep 12. Data were entered, cleaned and analyzed using SPSS version 16.0. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression was employed to identify the predictors at p < 0.05. For the qualitative study design, following iterative hearing of the discussions verbatim interpretation was done & categorized in to themes and finally triangulated with the quantitative results.ResultsThe prevalence of low birth weight was found to be 14.6 % (95 % CI = 12.56-16.61) and the mean and standard deviations of the birth weights were 3094.9 ± 587.6 grams. Low birth weight was associated with rural place of residence (AOR = 4.34 (95 % CI = 1.99-9.48)), preterm birth/gestational age less than 37 weeks (AOR = 18.5 (95 % CI = 4.94-69.4)), presence of any chronic medical illness (AOR = 5.3 (95 % CI = 1.12-25.45) and maternal weight <50 kg (AOR = 2.26 (95 % CI = 1.06-4.80)). It was found that tradition of selection and preference of nutritionally poor food items during pregnancy was deep-rooted in the community.ConclusionThe prevalence of low birth weight was found to be high and it was associated with rural place of residence, gestational age <37 wks, presence of any chronic medical illness & maternal weight <50 kg. Emphasis should be given to nutritional counseling and disease specific ANC provision by skilled health professionals; Discussions with the community and religious leaders are mandatory aspect on the tradition of feeding of pregnant mothers to tackle the problem. This study also calls for community based further studies.

Back ground Cesarean section rate is increasing worldwide. However, the World Health Organization has declared that there is insufficient information on maternal outcome following cesarean section for decision making.Objective The aim of this study was to assess post cesarean section maternal outcome and its associated factors availing evidence for practice and policy.Methods Institution based cross-sectional study was conducted among 357 mothers who underwent cesarean section in six selected public general hospitals of Tigray regional State, Ethiopia. Mothers were followed for the duration of post-operative period until they became safe for discharge. The maternal outcomes were categorized into either adverse or good outcomes depending on whether mothers develop any cesarean section related morbidity or not. Logistic regression model was constructed to determine the AOR and 95% CI of independent factors associated with maternal outcome following cesarean section.Results The proportion of adverse maternal outcome was 19.3% with 95% CI of (15.7% -23.8%). Route of anesthesia administration (AOR = 0.296, 95% CI: 0.126 - 0.695) and referral status (AOR = 0.371, 95%CI: 0.214 - 0.641) were statistically significant factors associated with maternal outcome following cesarean section.Conclusion There was high proportion of adverse maternal outcome. General anesthesia and referral from lower health facilities were associated with higher risk of post-CS adverse maternal outcome. Equipping lower level health facilities with the human and material capacity for timely detection of CS indications and provision of cesarean section services could decrease the number of referrals and subsequent delays that lead to adverse maternal outcome.

Background: Heart failure (HF) is associated with severe complications, hospitalization, and poor quality of life. Patients with heart failure had poor physical and emotional symptoms, functional status and worse health outcomes.Objective: The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis will be to investigate whether pharmacist intervention is effective in improving health related quality of life (HRQoL) and clinical outcomes among patients with heart failure.Method: Systematic review and meta-analysis will be conducted. Published journals in English and indexed in Medline (PubMed), Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Scopus, and Google scholar will be searched from 1990 to December 2019. Data will be extracted by one author and will be approved by other two authors independently. Data will be analyzed in accordance with the Cochrane handbook. Standardized mean differences will be used as an estimate of the effect size. Quality of included studies will be assessed using the modified Downs and Black checklist. Analysis for the dichotomous outcome studies will be converted into standardized mean difference and present with 95% confidence intervals. The review is approved in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) with registration ID CRD42020158236.Discussion: Currently there are important gaps on the effectiveness of pharmacist intervention in improving health-related quality of life and clinical outcomes. We believe this review will provide comprehensive evidence on the effectiveness of pharmacist intervention among patients with HF.