Background Early initiation of the first antenatal care visit provides a critical opportunity for health promotion, disease prevention, and curative care for women and their unborn fetuses. However, in developing countries, including Ethiopia, it is underutilized and most of the pregnant women didn’t attend antenatal care visits during the first trimester (early). Therefore, the objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of early initiation of antenatal care visits and its determinants among reproductive-age women in Ethiopia. Methods A secondary data analysis was done based on the 2019 intermediate Ethiopian demographic health survey. The data were weighted by sampling weight for probability sampling and non-response to restore the representativeness of the data and have valid statistical estimates. Then, a total weighted sample of 2,935 women aged 15–49 years who gave birth in the five years preceding the survey and who had antenatal care visits for their last child was included. A multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression model was fitted to examine the determinants of early initiation of first antenatal care visits. Finally, statistical significance was declared at a p-value < 0.05. Results In this study, the overall magnitude of early initiation of the first antenatal care visit was 37.4% (95%CI: 34.6–40.2%). Women who attend higher education (AOR = 2.26: 95%CI; 1.36–3.77), medium wealth status (AOR = 1.80: 95%CI; 1.17–2.76), richer wealth status (AOR = 1.86: 95%CI; 1.21, 2.85), richest wealth status (AOR = 2.34: 95%CI; 1.43–3.83), living in Harari region (AOR = 2.24: 95%CI; 1.16–4.30), and living at Dire-Dawa city (AOR = 2.24: 95%CI; 1.16–4.30) were higher odds of early initiation of first ANC visits. However, women who were rural resident (AOR = 0.70: 95%CI; 0.59–0.93), household headed by male (AOR = 0.87: 95%CI; 0.72, 0.97), having ≥ 5 family size (AOR = 0.71: 95%CI; 0.55–0.93), and living in SNNPRs (AOR = 0.44: 95%CI; 0.23–0.84) were lower odds of early initiation of first ANC visits. Conclusion The prevalence of early initiation of first antenatal care remains low in Ethiopia. Women’s education, residence, wealth status, household head, having ≥ 5 family sizes, and region were determinants of early initiation of first antenatal care visits. Improving female education and women’s empowerment through economic transitions with special attention given to rural and SNNPR regional state residents could maximize the early initiation of first antenatal care visits. Furthermore, to increase early antenatal care uptake, these determinants should be considered when designing new policies or updating policies and strategies on antenatal care uptake to help increase early attendance, which can help in the reduction of maternal and neonatal mortality and to achieve sustainable development goals 3 by 2030.

Objectives: Preventive measures like staying-at-home and social distancing are among the top strategies on the list to avert the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 and its consequences. However, this strategy brings off another shadow pandemic of intimate partner violence against women, and no study has been done to assess the magnitude of intimate partner violence against pregnant women during the pandemic in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study was aimed to determine the prevalence of intimate partner violence and its predictors in Southwest Ethiopia amid the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted, from 15 June 2021 to 15 August 2021, on a total of 590 pregnant women recruited by systematic random sampling techniques. Pretested structured questionnaires were used to collect data, and the data were entered using EpiData version 3.1 and analyzed by SPSS version 24. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify predictors of intimate partner violence. Finally, statistical significance was declared at a p-value <0.05. Results: The prevalence of intimate partner violence was 39.2%. Of this, 29.8%, 26.8%, and 22.2% of the pregnant women had experienced physical, sexual, and emotional intimate partner violence, respectively. Being illiterate (adjusted odds ratio = 2.36, 95% confidence interval: 1.33–4.19), having illiterate husbands (adjusted odds ratio = 4.79, 95% confidence interval: 2.69–8.55), household decisions made by the husband alone (adjusted odds ratio = 4.91, 95% confidence interval: 3.74–9.33), and pandemic-induced economic downturns (adjusted odds ratio = 9.03, 95% confidence interval: 5.18–15.98) were the predictors that were significantly associated with intimate partner violence. Conclusion: The prevalence of intimate partner violence against pregnant women during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has been found to be high in the study area. Thus, more efforts should be tried to integrating intimate partner violence screening in maternal and child healthcare services, and early identification of high-risk individuals, and continuous community-based awareness creation activities are recommended.

Despite the significant benefit of postpartum modern contraceptives to avert the problems related to short interpregnancy intervals and unintended pregnancy, still the uptake remains low in Ethiopia. The aim of the study was to assess the magnitude of family planning use during the puerperium period and the factors associated with it in the Benchi Sheko zone of Southwest Ethiopia. From 10th March to 10th May/2021, 385 mothers were enrolled in a community-based cross-sectional study. Participants were nominated using simple random sampling. To collect the data, an interviewer-administered questionnaire was used. To identify the factors associated with the utilization of postpartum contraceptives, bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used. The statistical significance level was determined at p-value < .05. The overall utilization of postpartum modern family planning utilization was 50.4% (95% CI: 45.3, 55.3). Maternal education (AOR = 2.26, 95% CI; 1.03–4.95), informed on family planning (AOR = 0.34, 95% CI; 0.13–0.91), counseled on contraceptives during Antenatal Care (ANC) (AOR = 1.82, 95% CI: 1.05–3.17), previous family planning utilization (AOR = 0.45, 95% CI: 0.28–0.73), counseled on contraceptives at the time of PNC (AOR = 1.70, 95% CI: 1.07–2.71), and resumption of sexual intercourse after delivery (AOR = 4.17, 95% CI: 1.57–11.08) were the major factors hindering the utilization of modern contraceptives. the overall magnitude of modern contraceptive utilization during the puerperium period was low. Having counseling, information, and previous experience in family planning, and time to sexual intercourse resumption were clinical predictors of family planning utilization. A concerted effort to incorporate contraceptive services into maternal, neonatal, and child health (MNCH) service units should strengthen much, and counseling gives due emphasis.