Despite the fact that health facilities in Ethiopia are being built closer to communities in all regions, the proportion of home deliveries remains high, and there are no studies being conducted to identify low birth weight (LBW) and premature newborn babies using simple, best, alternative, and appropriate anthropometric measurement in the study area. The objective of the present study was to find the simple, best, and alternative anthropometric measurement and identified its cut-off points for detecting LBW and premature newborn babies. A health facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted in the Dire Dawa city administration, Eastern Ethiopia. The study included 385 women who gave birth in health facility. To evaluate the overall accuracy of the anthropometric measurements, a non-parametric receiver operating characteristic curve was used. Chest circumference (AUC = 0⋅95) with 29⋅4 cm and mean upper arm circumference (AUC = 0⋅93) with 7⋅9 cm proved to be the best anthropometric diagnostic measure for LBW and gestational age, respectively. Also, both anthropometric measuring tools are achieved the highest correlation (r = 0⋅62) for LBW and gestational age. Foot length had a higher sensitivity (94⋅8 %) in detecting LBW than other measurements, with a higher negative predictive value (NPV) (98⋅4 %) and a higher positive predictive value (PPV) (54⋅8 %). Chest circumference and mid-upper arm circumference were found to be better surrogate measurements for identifying LBW and premature babies in need of special care. More research is needed to identify better diagnostic interventions in situations like the study area, which has limited resources and a high proportion of home deliveries.

Background: Indigenous herbal medicine use during pregnancy is a common phenomenon worldwide, particularly in low resource countries like Ethiopia, mainly due to their cost, perceived efficiency in treatment, and ease of access. But so far, studies across Ethiopia are variable and inconsistent and in the study area. Therefore, this study was aimed at assessing indigenous herbal medicine use and its associated factors among pregnant women. Methods: A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted in public health facilities in the Dire Dawa Administration, eastern Ethiopia, from October 10 to November 10, 2022, among pregnant women selected using a simple random sampling technique. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews using a pre-tested structured questionnaire, and data were entered and cleaned by Epi DATA (Version 3.1) and analyzed using SPSS (Version 22). A P-value < 0.25 at bivariate to select variables for multivariate and ≤ 0.05 at multivariate with 95% confidence intervals was considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 628 participants were included, yielding a response rate of 95.15 %. During their current pregnancy, 47.8% (95% CI: 43.8–51.6%) pregnant women used indigenous herbal medicine(IHMs). The predictors were education level: no formal education (AOR: 5.47, 95%CI: 2.40-12.46), primary level (AOR: 4.74, 95%CI: 2.15-10.44), rural residence (AOR: 2.54, 95%CI: 1.71-3.77), being a housewife (AOR: 4.15, 95%CI: 1.83-9.37), number of antenatal care visits (AOR: 2.58, 95%CI: 1.27-5.25), and knowledge of IHMs (AOR: 4.58, 95% CI: 3.02-6.97). Conclusion: The use of indigenous herbal medicine during pregnancy was as common and widespread as other research done in different areas. The predictors were residence, education level, occupation, number of antenatal care visits, and knowledge. The most commonly used herbal medicines were Lepidium sativum, Vernonia amygdalina, Moringa oleifera, Linum usitatissimum, Zingiber officinale, Eucalyptusglobulus, and Trigonella foenum-graecum. The most common indications were related to gastro-intestinal problems: intestinal parasites, nausea and vomiting, constipation, stomach aches, indigestion, and abdominal cramps. It was recommended that, considering their residence and education level, pregnant women during their ANC visits be made aware of the potential benefits and risks of indigenous herbal medicine, and that more research be conducted to confirm their efficacy and safety during pregnancy.

Background: Cultural malpractices are defined as traditional practices which negatively affect the physical, sexual, and socio-economic participation of women and children. It is responsible for the annual deaths of 303,000 mothers and 2.7 million newborns globally. In developing countries, it accounts for about 5–15% of maternal deaths. In Ethiopia, about 18% of infant deaths occur due to cultural practice, and 52% of pregnant mothers give birth at home following cultural customs in Dire Dawa city. Objective: To assess cultural malpractices and associated factors during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postnatal period in women who gave birth once in Dire Dawa, 2021. Methodology: Community-based mixed study was conducted. A total of 624 study participants were selected through a systematic random sampling technique, and a purposive sampling method was used for qualitative data. Data was entered into Epi Data version 4.1 and exported to SPSS version 24 for analysis. Bivariate and multivariate analysis was done and the degree of association was measured by using the odds ratio with 95% CI and significance was declared at a p-value of < 0.05. The qualitative data was analyzed thematically using ATLAS-ti version 7. Results: Theoverall prevalence of cultural malpractice during the perinatal period was 74.6% (462). Women over the age of 35 were nearly three times more likely [AOR 2.61, 95% CI, 1.455-4.722] to commit cultural malpractice than women aged 15–24 and 25–34. No ANC follow-up were nearly four times more likely to commit cultural malpractice [AOR 3.577, 95% CI, 1.72-7.408], absence health education were nearly two times more likely to commit cultural malpractice [AOR 1.83, 95%CI, 1.25–2.67], and women whose culture allows harmful traditional practices were nearly two times more likely to commit cultural malpractices than their counterparts [AOR 1.69, 95%CI, 1.29–2.54]. Conclusion and Recommendations: In this study, nearly three-fourths of participants were involved in cultural malpractices during the perinatal period.

Introduction: Puerperal sepsis is an infection of the genital tract occurring at any time from 2 to 42 days of puerperium. Maternal sepsis was responsible for 10.7% of the 295,000 maternal deaths worldwide. Various efforts are undertaken, but its burden remains as the third cause of maternal mortality in developing countries, including Ethiopia. However, there is a scarcity of data on determinants of puerperal sepsis in Ethiopia generally and not in the study area particularly. Objective: This study aimed to assess determinants of puerperal sepsis among postpartum women admitted to public and private hospitals in Dire Dawa city administration from September to October 2022. Methodology: A hospital-based unmatched-case control study was used among 600 postpartum women (150 cases and 450 controls). Cases (postpartum women with puerperal sepsis) and controls (postpartum women without puerperal sepsis) were selected by a systematic sampling technique. Data was collected using an interviewer-guided structured questionnaire and medical record review. The data was entered and cleaned by EPI DATA (Version 3.1) and analyzed using SPSS (Version 22) software. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression, as well as odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals, were used to examine the effect of each independent variable on the outcome variable, and a P-value of 0.20 for transferring to multivariable analysis and a P-value of 0.05 for multivariable analysis were considered statistically significant. Results: The determinants of puerperal sepsis were housewives (AOR = 2.24, 95% CI: 1.13-4.45), merchants (AOR = 2.98, 95% CI: 1.47-6.03), rural residence (AOR = 3.97, 95% CI: 2.34-6.74), home deliveries (AOR = 2.61, 95% CI: 1.02-6.70), cesarean deliveries (AOR = 2.40, 95% CI: 1.43-3.99), vaginal examinations (AOR = 3.50, 95% CI: 1.50-8.20), and prolonged rupture of membranes (AOR=1.91, 95%CI: 1.02-3.60) Conclusion and recommendation: The majority of determinants of puerperal sepsis were related to obstetrics, along with occupation and residence. As a result, interventions involving coordinated and combined efforts to improve institutional delivery and use standard procedures during the labor and delivery process might take these factors into account.