Objective To implement a vital statistics registry system to register pregnant women and document birth outcomes in the Global Network for Women’s and Children’s Health Research sites in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Methods The Global Network sites began a prospective population-based pregnancy registry to identify all pregnant women and record pregnancy outcomes up to 42 days post-delivery in more than 100 defined low-resource geographic areas (clusters). Pregnant women were registered during pregnancy, with 42-day maternal and neonatal follow-up recorded—including care received during the pregnancy and postpartum periods. Recorded outcomes included stillbirth, neonatal mortality, and maternal mortality rates. Results In 2010, 72 848 pregnant women were enrolled and 6-week follow-up was obtained for 97.8%. Across sites, 40.7%, 24.8%, and 34.5% of births occurred in a hospital, health center, and home setting, respectively. The mean neonatal mortality rate was 23 per 1000 live births, ranging from 8.2 to 48.5 per 1000 live births. The mean stillbirth rate ranged from 13.7 to 54.4 per 1000 births. Conclusion The registry is an ongoing study to assess the impact of interventions and trends regarding pregnancy outcomes and measures of care to inform public health.

The high rate of stunting at baseline and the lack of effect of either the meat or multiple micronutrient-fortified cereal intervention to reverse its progression argue for multifaceted interventions beginning in the pre- and early postnatal periods.

Background Early growth faltering is common but is difficult to reverse after the first 2 years of life. Objective To describe feeding practices and growth in infants and young children in diverse low-income settings prior to undertaking a complementary feeding trial. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted through the Global Network for Women’s and Children’s Health Research in Guatemala, Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, and Pakistan. Feeding questionnaires were administered to convenience samples of mothers of 5- to 9-month old infants and 12- to 24-month-old toddlers. After standardized training, anthropometric measurements were obtained from the toddlers. Following the 2006 World Health Organization Growth Standards, stunting was defined as length-for-age < −2SD, and wasting as weight-for-length < −2SD. Logistic regression was applied to evaluate relationships between stunting and wasting and consumption of meat (including chicken and liver and not including fish). Results Data were obtained from 1,500 infants with a mean (± SD) age of 6.9 ± 1.4 months and 1,658 toddlers with a mean age of 17.2 ± 3.5 months. The majority of the subjects in both age groups were breastfed. Less than 25% of the infants received meat regularly, whereas 62% of toddlers consumed these foods regularly, although the rates varied widely among sites. Stunting rate ranged from 44% to 66% among sites; wasting prevalence was less than 10% at all sites. After controlling for covariates, consumption of meat was associated with a reduced likelihood of stunting (OR = 0.64; 95% CI, 0.46 to 0.90). Conclusions The strikingly high stunting rates in these toddlers and the protective effect of meat consumption against stunting emphasize the need for interventions to improve complementary feeding practices, beginning in infancy.

Objective To determine population-based neonatal mortality rates in low and middle income countries and to examine gestational age, birth-weight and timing of death to assess the potentially preventable neonatal deaths. Methods A prospective observational study was conducted in communities in five low-income countries (Kenya, Zambia, Guatemala, India, and Pakistan) and one mid-income country (Argentina). Over a two-year period, all pregnant women in the study communities were enrolled by trained study staff and their infants followed to 28 days of age. Results Between October 2009 and March 2011, 153,728 babies were delivered and followed through day 28. Neonatal death rates ranged from 41 per 1000 births in Pakistan to 8 per 1000 in Argentina. 54% of the neonatal deaths were >37 weeks and 46% weighed 2500 grams or more. Half the deaths occurred within 24 hours of delivery. Conclusions In our population-based low and middle income country registries, the majority of neonatal deaths occurred in babies >37 weeks gestation and almost half weighed at least 2500 grams. Most deaths occurred shortly after birth. With access to better medical care and hospitalization, especially in the intrapartum and early neonatal period, many of these neonatal deaths might be prevented.

BackgroundSecondary infertility in developing countries is mostly attributable to blockage of the fallopian tubes due to adhesions caused by reproductive tract infections. There is a dearth of information on the prevalence and causes of secondary infertility from Pakistan. This paper presents results on factors associated with secondary infertility among married women in Karachi, Pakistan.MethodsA matched case-control study was conducted. Cases were women aged 15–35 years with history of at least one previous conception and currently seeking treatment for secondary infertility. Controls were women residing in the neighborhood of cases with at least one live birth and not taking treatment for secondary infertility. The age of controls was matched by ±5 years to that of cases. Data was collected from June to August 2003. Conditional logistic regression was used to determine crude and adjusted odds ratios (OR) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) for factors associated with secondary infertility.ResultsThe final multivariate logistic regression model revealed that after adjusting for age, cases were more likely to be the housewives (AOR = 2.6, 95% CI:1.5–4.4), had used inappropriate material to absorb blood during menstruation (AOR = 9.0, 95% CI: 5.0–16.4), and at their last delivery, had a birth attendant who did not wash hands with soap and water (AOR = 3.0, 95% CI: 1.4–5.7). Moreover, women with secondary infertility were more likely to report current or past history of having STI symptoms (AOR = 3.6, 95% CI: 2.4–5.6) and use of intra-vaginal indigenous medicines during their last post-partum period (AOR = 3.1, 95% CI: 1.6–5.7).ConclusionWe recommend health education and awareness messages for safe practices during menstruation, delivery, and the postpartum period for women in general. Additionally, sanitary napkins should be made available at an affordable cost, and safe delivery kits should contain educational/pictorial brochures for appropriate hand washing skills.