Background Early essential newborn care is one of the important interventions developed by the World Health Organization to reduce morbidities and mortalities in neonates. This study investigated the role of the public and private sector health facilities on factors associated with early essential newborn care practices following institutional delivery in Ghana. Methods We used data from the 2017/2018 multiple indicator cluster survey for our analysis. A total of 2749 mothers aged 15–49 years were included in the study. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the factors associated with early essential newborn care in both public and private health sectors. Results The prevalence of good early essential newborn care in the public sector health facilities was 26.4 % (95 % CI: 23.55, 29.30) whiles that of the private sector health facilities was 19.9 % (95 % CI: 13.55, 26.30). Mothers who had a Caesarean section in the public sector health facilities had 67 % lower odds of early essential newborn care compared to mothers who had a vaginal delivery [adjusted prevalence odds ratios (aPOR) = 0.33, 95 % CI: 0.20, 0.53]. Mothers without a health insurance in the public sector health facilities had 26 % lower odds of early essential newborn care compared to mothers with a health insurance (aPOR = 0.74, 95 % CI: 0.56, 0.97). However, these associations were not observed in the private sector health facilities. Conclusions The findings suggest that the prevalence of good early essential newborn care in the public sector health facilities was higher than that reported in the private sector health facilities. Child health programs on early essential newborn care needs to be prioritized in the private healthcare sector. The Government of Ghana may also need to increase the coverage of the national health insurance scheme for women in reproductive age.

Background: Evidence of the association between early antenatal care (ANC) and receiving at least three doses of sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (IPTp3+) during pregnancy is limited. It's also unclear whether the association between early ANC and IPTp3+ is modified by planned pregnancy status.Objectives: Our primary aim was to assess the relationship between early ANC and IPTp3+ and to assess whether this relationship is modified by a woman's planned pregnancy status. We also estimated IPTp3+ coverage across Sub-Saharan African countries.Methods: Data on 77 183 mothers with a live birth in the past two years were analyzed using multiple indicator cluster surveys (MICSs) from 17 Sub-Saharan African countries conducted between 2013 and 2019. We used modified Poisson regression with a robust variance to assess the association between early ANC and IPTp3+, while adjusting for country, clustering, stratification and sample weights. Effect modification by planned pregnancy status was assessed on the additive and multiplicative scales. We used metaanalytic techniques to pool prevalent estimates of IPTp3+ across all countries.Findings: IPTp3+ overall coverage was 22.1% (95% CI: 17.0%, 27.1%), and ranged from 2.9% (95% CI: 1.3%, 4.4%) in São Tomé and Príncipe to 51.7% (95% CI: 49.2%, 54.1%) in Ghana. IPTp3+ coverage was 30% higher among mothers who had early ANC compared to those who did not have early ANC [adjusted prevalence ratio (aPR): 1.30, 95% CI: 1.23,1.36]. There was evidence of effect modification on the additive [relative excess risk due to interaction (RERI): 0.08, 95% CI: 0.0002, 0.15] and multiplicative (aPR: 1.10, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.20) scales. Conclusions:IPTp3+ coverage was low across many of the countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Women who had early ANC were more likely to receive IPTp3+. Women whose pregnancies were unplanned were less likely to receive IPTp3+, but our effect modification analysis showed that early ANC among such women can increase IPTp3+ coverage.

Background Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) is a practice highly recommended by the WHO and UNICEF for all infants to be given solely breastmilk in the first six months. This practice is advised because breastmilk is the gold standard of infant feeding, as it is untainted and comprises all of the essential nutrients for the first few months of a child’s life. The objective of this study is to focus on the factors that prevent mothers from exclusively breastfeeding among Ghanaian women residents in rural and urban geographic locations. Methods Data were acquired from the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS) for this analysis. A total of 557 mothers who had infants in the last 2 years between the ages of 0–5 months were extracted from the individual child (KR) dataset. A logistic regression model was utilized to ascertain the predictors of not exclusively breastfeeding among Ghanaian women. Results Overall, 52% of mothers engaged in exclusive breastfeeding. Ethnicity, infant size, region, marital status, mother’s age, and husband’s occupation had a significant association with breastfeeding status [Table 1]. The binary logistic regression revealed that the timing of first antennal visits, maternal education, region, ethnicity, and husband’s occupation were significantly associated with predictors of EBF. Mothers without formal education and mothers whose husbands/partners' occupation was skilled manual labor were more likely to not breastfeed exclusively. Mothers residing in the northern part of Ghana, mothers of a minority ethnic group, and the timing of first antennal visits had lower odds of not exclusively breastfeeding. Conclusion The findings suggest that breastfeeding in Ghana is a universal practice since more than 98% of infants were birthed in the last 2 years breastfed before at some point. Despite the existence of breastfeeding campaigns and the high awareness created, EBF rates continue to decline in the nation. Therefore, it is crucial to develop and implement EBF intervention programs that aim to eliminate misconceptions and misinformation about the practice with more emphasis on the health and economic benefits of EBF.