Background. Developing countries like Ethiopia contributed highest level of maternal mortality due to obstetric complications. Women awareness of obstetric danger sign to recognize complications to seek medical care early is the first intervention in an effort to decrease maternal death. Objective. To assess knowledge about danger signs of obstetric complications and associated factors among postnatal mothers at Mechekel district health centers, East Gojjam zone, Northwest Ethiopia, 2014. Methods. An institution based cross-sectional study was conducted from August to October, 2014, in Mechekel district health centers. Systematic random sampling was used to select four hundred eleven study participants. A pretested structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Data were entered to Epi Info version 3.5.3 and exported to SPSS 20.0 for further analysis. Descriptive and summary statistics were done. Logistic regression analyses were used to see the association of different variables. Odds ratios and 95% confidence interval were computed to determine the presence and strength of association. Results. According to this study, 55.1% participants were knowledgeable about danger signs of obstetric complications. Maternal and husband educational level ((AOR = 1.977, 95% CI: 1.052, 3.716) and (AOR = 3.163, 95% CI: 1.860, 5.3770), resp.), family monthly income ≥ 1500 (AOR = 2.954, 95% CI: 1.289, 6.770), being multipara (AOR = 7.463, 95% CI: 1.301, 12.800), ANC follow-up during last pregnancy (AOR = 2.184, 95% CI: 1.137, 4.196), and place of last delivery (AOR = 1.955, 95% CI: 1.214, 3.150) were variables found to be significantly associated with women's knowledge on danger signs of obstetric complications. Conclusion. Significant proportion of respondents were not knowledgeable about obstetric danger signs and factors like educational status, place of last delivery, and antenatal follow-up were found to be associated.

ObjectiveEarly antenatal care follow-up is the main strategy of preventing pregnancy related adverse outcomes; in which World Health Organization recommends first antenatal care visit should be offered within the first trimester. However, Low utilization and late booking is the predominant problem in most developing countries including Ethiopia. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of late initiation for antenatal care follow-up and associated factors among pregnant women. Institutional based cross-sectional study was conducted among 423 pregnant mothers using systematic sampling technique. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed at the level of significance of p-value ≤ 0.05.ResultsThe findings showed 59.4% of pregnant women started their first visit after first trimester. Having age ≥ 25 years (AOR = 1.62, CI 1.1, 2.49), recognition of pregnancy by missed period (AOR = 2.54 CI 1.63, 3.96), pregnant mother who were not advised to start antenatal-care (AOR = 3.36, CI 1.74, 6.5) and primary educational level (AOR = 2.22, CI 1.16, 4.25) were found to be significantly associated with late initiation for antenatal care. The prevalence of late antenatal care follow-up is high. Multidisciplinary approaches to keep empowering women through education are recommended for early initiation of antenatal care.

Abstract:Introduction: Contraceptive discontinuations contribute substantially to the total fertility rate, unwanted pregnancies and induced abortions.In developing countries, contraceptive discontinuation rate is very common. While the Ethiopian government emphasizes onthe provision of long-acting contraceptive methods, women who start to use the method were discontinuing it and the rate of discontinuation is understudied.

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Introduction: Preconception care is an important window to target maternal morbidity and mortality, especially for women who have chronic diseases. However, little was known about knowledge and attitudes towards preconception care among women of reproductive age with chronic disease. Therefore this study aimed to assess Knowledge and attitude on preconception care and associated factors among women of reproductive age with chronic disease who have follow-up at Amhara Regional State Referral Hospitals, Ethiopia, 2022. Method:A multicenter cross-sectional study design was conducted among 828 women of reproductive age from April 15 to June 1, 2022. A multistage sampling technique was employed to select study participants. Data was collected by using a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire and chart review. Bi-variate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were carried out, and statistical significance was declared with P <0.05 and AOR with a 95% confidence interval. Result:This study found that 55.6% of respondents had a good knowledge on preconception care, and about half of the women (50.2%) had a good attitude towards PCC. Women, who attended formal education (AOR: 1.997, 95% CI: 1.247, 3.196), prim-parity (AOR: 2.589, 95% CI: 1.132, 5.921), received preconception counseling (AOR: 3.404, 95% CI: 2.170, 5.340), duration of disease ≥ 5 years (AOR: 6.495, 95% CI: 4.091, 10.310) were significantly associated with knowledge on PCC. Woman's age ≥35years (AOR: 2.143, 95% CI: 1.058, 4.339), women who attended secondary education and above (AOR: 2.427, 95% CI: 1.421, 4.146), history of modern family planning use (AOR: 2.853 95% CI: 1.866, 4.362), received preconception counseling (AOR: 2.209, 95% CI: 1.429, 3.414) and having good knowledge on PCC (AOR: 20.629, 95% CI: 12.425, 34.249) were significantly associated with attitude towards PCC. Conclusions:The finding of this study showed that women’s knowledge and attitude on preconception care were relatively low. Health professionals in the study area shall counsel women to improve knowledge and attitude on preconception care.