Background. Maternal tetanus is defined as tetanus acquired during pregnancy or within 6 weeks after the end of conception. As tetanus is a vaccine-preventable disease, immunization of pregnant mothers with a TT (tetanus toxoid) dose is one of the most effective ways to protect against the disease. Some studies showed that 94% of neonatal mortality reduction could be achieved through immunization of pregnant and childbearing-age mothers with at least two doses of TT vaccination. Objective. To assess the uptake of tetanus toxoid vaccine and associated factors among mothers who gave birth in the last 12 months in Errer district, Somali Regional State, Eastern Ethiopia, 2017. Methods and Materials. A community-based cross-sectional study design was implemented to study 440 mothers who gave birth in the last 12 months. Participants were selected using the strata and systematic sampling technique after conducting a preliminary survey. Data were collected through a face-to-face interviewer-administered questionnaire. The collected data was entered into EpiData version 3.02 and then exported to Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regressions were carried out to see the association between variables at p<0.05 and 95% confidence interval. Finally, the information was presented by using frequencies, summary measures, and tables. Result. The overall tetanus vaccination uptake (≥TT2) doses was found to be 51.8%, 95% CI (47.7%, 56.4%). The total number of mothers who complete the five TT doses was 31 (14.8%). Urban residence [AOR=6.1, 95% CI: (2.33, 10.43)], multiparity [AOR=2.3, 95% CI: (1.7, 6.4)], and traveling less than 30 minutes from the home to a health facility [AOR=4.6, 95% CI: (1.34, 6.72)] were some the factors that were significantly associated with tetanus toxoid vaccination uptake. Conclusion and Recommendation. Although TT immunization is a scientifically proven mechanism to protect against maternal and neonatal tetanus, only half of the district mothers received ≥TT2 doses. Besides, our study revealed that the low vaccine uptake is attributed to long distance travel to reach a health facility, maternal illiteracy, and pastoralist lifestyle of mothers in the district. Thus, the regional stakeholders are required to scale up efforts on mother’s awareness creation towards the importance of the vaccine through health education and to arrange outreach TT vaccination campaigns in distant pastoralist communities within the region.

Background: Neonatal thermal care is a vital intervention as newborns are susceptible to hypothermia than adults for certain reasons such as having a large body surface area, thin skin, little insulating fat, and overwhelmed thermoregulation mechanisms. Many newborn complications develop because of hypothermia due to thermal care malpractices. The leading thermal practice by women of developing countries is early bathing which predisposes newborns for life-threatening situations, such as low blood sugar levels, respiratory distress, abnormal clotting, jaundice, pulmonary hemorrhage and increased risk of developing infections. Hence, this research is aimed to provide substantial evidence regarding the women’s practices of newborn bath and the factors that determine early (<24hr) bathing. Objective: The study aimed to assess the early newborn bath and its associated factors among parturient women who gave birth in the last month in the Harar region, Eastern Ethiopia, 2017. Methods: The study applied an institutional-based cross-sectional study design by recruiting 433 women. The data collectors interviewed study participants face to face at the baby immunization ward from two hospitals and four health centers. The author calculated the sample size using a double population proportion formula. A systematic sampling technique from the women’s medical registration frame was used to select the final study participants. The data collectors gathered the data using a structured questionnaire adapted from different literature, checking its consistency, reliability and validity by a pretest. Results: The response rate of this study was 99.8%. The early newborn bathing practice was found in 153 (35.4% with 95% (CI): (30.3%, 40.3%) women. Uneducated (AOR=3.12 95% CI: (2.12-5.3), no knowledge of hypothermia (AOR=4.95 95% CI: (3.10-12.2), being Primi para (AOR=3.5 95% CI: (2.5-5.6) and no utilization of newborn bed net (AOR=6.2 95% CI: (3.3-45) were statistically significant factors determining early newborn bathing practice. Conclusion: The study revealed that although the ministry implemented a good deal of awareness promotion activities, women still practice early newborn bathing. Maternal illiteracy, giving birth for the first time, knowledge deficiency related to hypothermia and newborn bed net application were among the factors which demand improvement to solve the problem.

Background: Premature membrane rupture is an obstetric emergency when the fetal membrane ruptures and the amniotic fluid is expelled from the uterus at least one hour before the start of labor. The incidence of PROM during pregnancy is a concern to obstetrics as it is associated with many adverse pregnancy outcomes such as chorioamnionitis oligohydramnios, preterm labour, neonatal sepsis and neonatal asphyxia. Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the incidence of premature rupture of membranes and its associated factors in public hospitals of the eastern zone, Tigray region, Northern Ethiopia, 2019. Methods: The authors used a facility-based cross-sectional study design to study 212 participants from April to May 2019. The sample size was calculated by using a single population proportion formula. An interviewer-administered, pretested, and structured questionnaire were used to collect the data. The analysis was run using SPSS version 20. Finally, the odds ratio with 95% CI used to measure the association after multivariable analysis and statistical significance was declared at p-value <0.05. Results: The incidence of premature rupture of a membrane in this study was 29 (13.7%). The multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that predictors like multigravida 2.1(1.94-6.03) having sexually transmitted infection AOR 1.3 and 95% CI (1.02-5.56) and previous history of premature rupture of membrane AOR and 95% CI 3.9 (1.9-10.02) were found to be associated with the occurrence of premature rupture of membrane. Conclusions: The incidence of premature rupture of membrane in this study was high. Hence the occurrence of the case put the health of the mother and the fetus in danger. The pregnant mothers with preexisting obstetric and medical cases should be followed with special emphasis as a pretext to prevent the occurrence of maternal and neonatal adverse outcomes.

Background:: Iron-folic acid supplementation is a central preventive measure for maternal anemia, so a consideration of the factors leading to or deterring from adherence is important. This review aims to establish if there is a correlation between increasing maternal education and adherence of iron-folic acid supplementation in Ethiopia. Methods:: An electronic database search was conducted using PubMed, Google Scholar, Cochrane Library and African Journals Online. Joanna Briggs Institute Meta-Analysis of Statistical Assessment and Review Instrument was used for quality appraisal of the included studies. The extracted data were entered into Microsoft™ Excel sheet and exported to R-software version 3.6.1 for analysis. Maternal education on adherence of iron-folic acid supplementation was analyzed and subgroup analyses of difference between regions and time of study period were conducted. Results:: The online search yielded a total of 936 articles, and based on inclusion/exclusion criteria nine were included in this study with a total of 3263 participants. Applying the random effect model, the analysis revealed that the odds of prenatal adherence of iron-folic acid supplementation were 2.89 times higher in mothers with secondary school education and above as compared to those who had not received formal education. Conclusions:: Conclusions: