BackgroundThere is limited evidence about husbands’ roles on women’s utilization of skilled maternity care in Ethiopia, a country with low utilization coverage of skilled birth attendants and high maternal mortality. This study examined the association between husbands’ involvement in antenatal care and women’s use of skilled birth attendants in Sidama zone, Southern Ethiopia.MethodsUsing a cohort study design, we followed a random sample of 709 antenatal women until delivery from June 01 to November 30, 2015. Main exposure variable was husband’s involvement in at least one antenatal care visit, and outcome variable was women’s use of skilled attendants during birth. Data were analysed using SPSS software-version20. We computed univariate and bivariate analyses to describe characteristics of the study subjects. A chi-square test with p-value < 0.05 level of significance and logistic regression analyses with odds ratio and 95% confidence interval were computed to test homogeneity of the two groups’ baseline characteristics and examine the association between husbands’ involvement in antenatal care and women’s use of skilled attendants during birth. Model assessment of the regression equation was checked using a likelihood ratio test, score test, and Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test.ResultsWomen who reported at least one antenatal care visit in which their husbands accompanied them were 6.27 times (95% Confidence interval: 4.2, 9.3) more likely to use skilled birth attendants compared to women attended antenatal care alone.ConclusionThere was a strong statistically significant association between husbands’ involvement during antenatal care and women’s use of skilled attendants during birth. This implies that woman’s utilization of skilled attendants during birth can be improved by involving their husbands in at least one antenatal care visit.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12884-018-1954-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Background: Husbands' involvement in maternal care is considered as a crucial step in scaling up women's utilization of the services. However, the factors related with how husband's involvement in maternal health care have hardly been studied to date in the study areas. Therefore, this study aimed to explore barriers to husbands' involvement in maternal health care, in Sidama zone, Southern Ethiopia. Methods: The study employed a qualitative method. A pre-tested interview guide questions that prepared in English and translated in to Amharic language were used for data collection. The data were collected using focus group discussions, in-depth interviews and key-informants' interview in April and May 2015. The data were analyzed thematically. Results: The study identified a range of factors that-deterred husbands to involve in their female partners' maternal health care. These are childbirth is a natural process, pregnancy and childbirth are women's business, preference for TBAs' care and husband's involvement in pregnancy and birth care is a new idea were identified as barriers for husbands' involvement in maternal health care, in this study. Conclusions: A range of factors related with clients' and service delivery factors' were identified as barriers to husbands' involvement in maternal health care. Based on the study findings we recommend a contextual based awareness creation programs about husbands' involvement in maternal health care need to be established.

Background Food cravings is a strong and intense urge to consume a specific food and reported as being associated with overweight and overall caloric intake in pregnant women. However, the nutritional and anthropometric consequences are not well recognized. Therefore, this study aimed to assess magnitude and effects of food cravings on nutritional status of pregnant women in Southern Ethiopia. Methods A community-based cross-sectional study conducted among 586 randomly selected pregnant mothers at Sidama Regional State from June 1–20, 2019. Pre-tested and semistructured face-to-face interview questionnaires used to collect the data. The data were cleaned, coded, and entered into Epi Data version 3.1 and analysed using SPSS IBM version 20. The bi-variable and multivariable logistic regression used to identify the possible factors of food cravings. Principal component analysis used to determine the wealth status of the study participants. Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) together with 95% Confidence Intervals (CIs) used to declare statistical significance. Results The study found that nearly three in five, 309 (58.3%) [95%, CI: 54.2%-62.8%] of the study participants reported food cravings. Meat (71.5%) and Fruits (41.7%) were the most frequently craved. About one-third, 194 (36.6%) of the study participants were undernourished (MUAC < 23 cm). Age of women (20–34 years), government employed, Antenatal Care (ANC), Pica practice, lowest wealth quintile, and skipping meals were statistically associated with food cravings. Whereas, wealth quintile and ability to consume craved food were factors associated with the nutritional status of pregnant women. Moreover, our study result found that maternal undernutrition and food cravings were statistically associated (p<0.001). Conclusion The prevalence of food cravings in this study is comparable to the global level. However, the magnitude of undernutrition found to be higher. Thus, health care providers need to take every opportunity to encourage women to adopt healthful dietary practices during pregnancy.

Introduction Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) affects women’s quality of life in various aspects. However, evidence on the healthcare-seeking behavior of women with POP is limited. Therefore, this review aimed to identify and synthesize the existing evidence on the healthcare-seeking behavior among women with POP. Methods This systematic review and narrative synthesis of the literature on healthcare-seeking behavior among women with POP was conducted from 20 June to 07 July 2022. The electronic databases PubMed, African Journals Online, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, African Index Medicus and Directory of Open Access Journal, and Google Scholar were searched for relevant literature published from 1996 to April 2022. The retrieved evidence was synthesized using a narrative synthesis approach. The characteristics of included studies and the level of healthcare-seeking behavior were summarized in a table and texts. Error bar was used to show the variability across different studies. Results A total of 966 articles were retrieved of which only eight studies with 23,501 women (2,683 women with pelvic organ prolapse) were included in the synthesis. The level of healthcare-seeking behavior ranges from 21.3% in Pakistan to 73.4% in California, USA. The studies were conducted in four different populations, used both secondary and primary data, and were conducted in six different countries. The error bar shows variation in healthcare-seeking behavior. Conclusions The level of health-care seeking behavior among women with POP is low in low-income countries. There is substantial variability in the characteristics of the reviewed studies. We recommend a large-scale and robust study which will help to better understand the healthcare-seeking behavior among women with POP.

Background Midwifery-led care is an evidence-based practice in which a qualified midwife provides comprehensive care for low-risk pregnant women and new-borns throughout pregnancy, birth, and the postnatal period. Evidence indicates that midwifery-led care has positive impacts on various outcomes, which include preventing preterm births, reducing the need for interventions, and improving clinical outcomes. This is, however, mainly based on studies from high-income countries. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess the effectiveness of midwifery-led care on pregnancy outcomes in low- and middle-income countries. Methods We used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. Three electronic databases (PubMed, CINAHL, and EMBASE) were searched. The search results were systematically screened by two independent researchers. Two authors independently extracted all relevant data using a structured data extraction format. Data analysis for the meta-analysis was done using STATA Version 16 software. A weighted inverse variance random-effects model was used to estimate the effectiveness of midwifery-led care on pregnancy outcomes. Odds ratio with a 95% confidence interval (CI) was presented using a forest plot. Results Ten studies were eligible for inclusion in this systematic review, of which five studies were eligible for inclusion in the meta-analysis. Women receiving midwifery-led care had a significantly lower rate of postpartum haemorrhage and a reduced rate of birth asphyxia. The meta-analysis further showed a significantly reduced risk of emergency Caesarean section (OR = 0.49; 95% CI: 0.27–0.72), increased odds of vaginal birth (OR = 1.14; 95% CI: 1.04–1.23), decreased use of episiotomy (OR = 0.46; 95% CI: 0.10–0.82), and decreased average neonatal admission time in neonatal intensive care unit (OR = 0.59; 95% CI: 0.44–0.75). Conclusions This systematic review indicated that midwifery-led care has a significant positive impact on improving various maternal and neonatal outcomes in low- and middle-income countries. We therefore advise widespread implementation of midwifery-led care in low- and middle-income countries.

Background: Treatment outcome results serve as a proxy of the quality of TB treatment for children In Ethiopia, data on TB treatment outcomes in children are limited. The aim of this study was, therefore, to determine the magnitude of tuberculosis treatment outcome in children and associated factors in health facilities of Shashemene, Southern Ethiopia Methods: A cross-sectional study design was conducted from February 10 to March 10, 2019 at Shashemene town, Southern Ethiopia. Using a simple random sampling method, 390 registered TB patients who had known treatment outcomes were selected from Unit TB register logbook. The data entered to Epi Info version 7, and analyzed using SPSS version 23 the characteristic and the treatment outcomes of patients’ were summarized using descriptive statistics. Significant variables at p-value < 0.25 in the bivariate analysis were entered to multivariable logistic regression. Multivariable logistic regression model was used to find factors associated with tuberculosis treatment outcomes in children.Results: Out of 390 children, 201(51. 5%) were females, 138(35.4%) were under 5 years old, and 373(95. 6%) of them were new cases. Pulmonary smear-negative TB accounted for more than half 213(54.6%), EPTB accounted for 140(35.9%) and pulmonary smear-positive TB accounted for 37(9.5%). The overall treatment success rate was 356(91.3%). Among 390 patients, 25(6.4%) were cured, 331(84.9%) were treatment completed, 14(3.6%) were lost to follow up, 17(4.4%) were deaths, and 3(0.7%) were treatment failures. Age group 5-9 years (AOR = 0.362, 95% CI [0.138-0.950]), 10-14 years (AOR =0.354, 95% CI [0.130-0.963]), lost to follow up category of TB (AOR=8.166, 95% CI [1.437-46.410]), HIV positive sero-status (AOR =5.822, 95% CI [2.009-16.869]), and rural residence (AOR= 2.390, 95% CI [1.002-5.702] were independently associated with treatment outcomes. Conclusions: he treatment success rate was above End TB Strategy. The treatment outcome was considerably varied with age, HIV status and residence of the patient. Young children less than 5 years, HIV co-infected and those patients with rural residence needs follow up to reduce poor treatment outcomes among children.