IntroductionMeasures of maternal death are fundamental to a country’s health and development status. In developing countries, it remains a daunting and largely unmet public health challenge. There were two studies completed over 10 years ago in Jimma University Specialized Hospital to identify trends, but recently there have been many changes in Ethiopia to reduce maternal death. Therefore, it is important to track the achievements made in Ethiopia in the context of Jimma University Specialized Hospital. No study undertaken in the country has quantified deaths of women from specific causes after controlling confounders.ObjectiveTo assess trends and causes of maternal death in Jimma University Specialized Hospital, southwest Ethiopia.MethodsA time-matched case–control study was conducted on 600 (120 cases and 480 controls) females who utilized obstetrics and gynecology services from January 2010 to December 2014. To observe trends in maternal death, maternal mortality ratio was calculated for each year. Stata version 13 was used to analyze causal inference using propensity score matching method.ResultsMaternal mortality ratio was 857/100,000 and had a decreasing trend from it’s highest in 2010 of 1,873/100,000 to it’s lowest of 350/100,000 in 2014. The leading cause of maternal death was hemorrhage (54%) (β=0.477, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.307, 0.647), followed by pregnancy-induced hypertension (20%) (β=0.232, 95% CI: 0.046, 0.419), and anemia (12%) (β=0.110, 95% CI: 0.017, 0.204).ConclusionThere is a decreasing trend of maternal death. Hemorrhage was the major cause of death identified in each year of study.

Objective: This study aimed to determine the prevalence and identify associated factors of hepatitis B virus infection among pregnant women attending antenatal care (ANC) follow-up. Methods: An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted from March 04 to April 03, 2020. A total of 381 women were selected using systematic random sampling after every two consecutive women. Structured and interviewer administered questionnaire was used to collect the data. A 2 ml of venous blood sample was drawn from each participant. The plasma was separated from the collected blood samples and was analyzed using a rapid hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) kit to determine hepatitis sero status. Data were entered into the EPI-Data version 3.1, then exported to the statistical package for social sciences version 25 software and analyzed. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to identify independent predictors of HBsAg B seroprevalence at a p-value <0.05. Results: The prevalence of HBsAg sero-positivity among pregnant women was 6.6%, 95% CI (4.2, 8.9). History of hosptal admission (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 4.11; 95% CI = 1.33–12.71), surgical history (AOR = 6.8; 95% CI = 1.93–23.93), history dental procedures (AOR = 4.93; 95% CI = 1.31–18.53), and body tatoo practices (AOR = 6.822; 95% CI = 1.89–24.69) were found to be associated with HBsAg sero-positivity. Conclusion: This study found that HBsAg sero positivity among pregnant women in the study area was in intermediate edemicity. Factors such as history of hospital admission, history of surgery, history of dental procedures, and body tattoo practices were found to be associated with HBsAg sero-positivity. The government of Ethiopia should strengthen screening of all pregnant women for HBV as a part of routine ANC in ANC clinics and treating if they are positive to prevent mother to child transmission.