BackgroundMaternal and infant mortality remains high in Nigeria primarily due to low use of skilled birth attendants. Huge disparities exist between southern and northen Nigeria on use of skilled birth attendants with south significantly higher than the north. We assessed the effect of centering pregnancy group (CPG) antenatal care on the uptake of antenatal care (ANC), facility delivery and immunization rates for infants in Kano state.MethodsBetween December 2012 and May 2014, pregnant women with similar sociodemographics and obstetric history were enrolled into intervention (CPG) and control groups and followed up prospectively. Chi-square tests were conducted to compare the differences between the intervention and the control groups with respect to background characteristics and intervention outcomes. Logistic regression was used to measure the associations between CPG and uptake of services for mother-baby pairs in care.ResultsA total of 517 (260 in the control group and 257 in the CPG) pregnant women enrolled and participated in the study. Thirty-six percent of women in the control group attended ANC at least once in 2nd and 3nd trimester compared to 49% of respondents in the CPG (p < 0.01). Health facility delivery was higher among CPG (13% vs. 8%; p < 0.01). When controlled for age, number of previous pregnancies, number of term deliveries, number of children alive and occupation of respondent or their spouses, respondents who participated in the CPGs compared to those who did not, were more likely to attend at least one antenatal care (ANC) session in the third trimester [adjusted risk ratio (ARR):1.52; 95% CI:1.36–1.69], more likely to immunize their babies at six weeks [ARR: 2.23; 95% CI: 1.16–4.29] and fourteen weeks [ARR: 3.46; 95% CI: 1.19–10.01] and more likely to use health services [ARR: 1.50; 95% CI: 1.06–2.13].ConclusionCentering or group pregnancy showed a positive effect on the use of antenatal services, facility delivery and postnatal services and thus is a promising intervention to increase uptake of maternal health care services in northern Nigeria. The low facility delivery remains a cause for alarm and requires further investigation to improve facility delivery in northern Nigeria.

Introduction:Prelacteal feeding practice contravenes the recommendation of World Health Organisation that breastfeeding be initiated within an hour of childbirth. Consequently, the health, social, emotional and economic benefits of optimal breastfeeding are limited. Therefore, to break this vicious cycle of prelacteal feeding and suboptimal breastfeeding, factors associated with the practice must be identified. Objective: To assess prelacteal feeding practices and its associated factors in a rural community with the view to generate data for community-level interventions that will promote optimal breastfeeding. Methods: Data was collected during a community-based surveillance for maternal, newborn and child health project in Tsibiri, a rural community in north-western Nigeria. The survey questionnaire was uploaded into mobile devices running on an android operating system. Trained female interviewers collected the data over a period of one week in 2011. Results: A total of 270 out of 309 interviewed women had experienced childbirth and were included in the analysis. Majority (85.2%) of respondents utilised prelacteal feeds for their newborns. Plain water was the most common prelacteal feed (44.7%). Prelacteal feeding was associated with births assisted by unskilled birth attendants (AOR 5.322, 95%CI 1.634-17.333); while operative delivery reduced the likelihood of the practice (AOR 0.168,. No statistically significant association was found between use of prelacteal feed and women's age, education or access to income. Conclusion: The predominance of prelacteal feeding practices underscores the need for innovative strategies that create awareness among mothers and health care providers, with emphasis on health facility deliveries, advantages of breastfeeding and risks of prelacteal feeding.

Objective To assess women's experience of group prenatal care in a rural Nigerian community. Methods In an observational study, consenting pregnant women were enrolled in a group prenatal care program based on the CenteringPregnancy model from July 1, 2010, to June 30, 2011, in Tsibiri, Nigeria. Women were interviewed before joining the group and postnatally. A predesigned pro forma was used to assess group behavior during sessions. Descriptive and inferential statistics were applied to data. Results In total, 161 women enrolled, and 54 of 72 scheduled prenatal sessions took place. The average number of visits was three per woman, with good group interaction and cohesion. Mothers who could mention at least five out of eight danger signs of pregnancy increased from 1.4% (2) to 13.3% (14) (P<0.001, 95% CI 4.28–19.52), while mean knowledge score for danger signs increased from 31% to 47.8% (P<0.001, 95% CI 0.86–2.16). Commitment to birth preparedness plans was impressive. The mothers enjoyed the group sessions and shared the lessons they learned with others. Conclusion Group prenatal care was feasible and acceptable to women in the present study setting. Comparative trials would be helpful to demonstrate the benefits of the tested model in low‐income settings.

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Introduction Certain traditional practices which have negative effects on maternal and child health continue to be practiced in sub-Saharan African countries. A survey was carried out in a rural village in Nigeria to understand the scale and range of these practices. Methods This was a cross-sectional study in which trained interviewers administered pre-tested questionnaires on child-bearing women using questionnaires embedded on android devices. Results The median age of marriage and pregnancy were 15 and 16 years respectively. Home births were high (90.4%) while non-skilled birth attendant was 87.4%. The community had a son preference index ratio of 1:4.1. Up to 81.5% of mothers responded that one form of unhygienic traditional procedure or the other was performed on their children. Time to initiation of breast feeding was in hours in the majority (76.3%) of mothers, with a high rate of use of prelacteal feeds (85.2%). Being an adolescent mother (AOR 0.403, 95%CI 0.203, 0,797) and utilizing a skilled provider at birth (AOR 0.245, 95%CI 0.088, 0.683) were associated with less likelihood of having an unhygienic procedure performed on children. Conclusion The findings of our study suggest that traditional practices which could have negative effects on maternal and child health are still ongoing in the study community. Child protection laws and safeguarding principles could help to reduce these practices and would need to be developed and implemented in these settings where these practices are still prevalent.