Effects of vitamin A or beta carotene supplementation on pregnancy-related mortality and infant mortality in rural Bangladesh: a cluster randomized trial.

Context: Maternal vitamin A deficiency is a public health concern in the developing world. Its prevention may improve maternal and infant survival.

Objective: To assess efficacy of maternal vitamin A or beta carotene supplementation in reducing pregnancy-related and infant mortality.

Causes of death among women aged 10-50 years in Bangladesh, 1996-1997.

Limited information is available at the national and district levels on causes of death among women of reproductive age in Bangladesh. During 1996-1997, health-service functionaries in facilities providing obstetric and maternal and child-heath services were interviewed on their knowledge of deaths of women aged 10-50 years in the past 12 months. In addition, case reports were abstracted from medical records in facilities with in-patient services.

Determinants of antenatal morbidity: a multivariate analysis.

Objectives: The aim of this paper was to investigate the potential risk factors for developing complications and their magnitude during the antenatal period.

Methodology: The data used in this paper came from a prospective survey in rural areas of Bangladesh conducted by the Bangladesh Institute of Research for Promotion of Essential and Reproductive Health and Technologies (BIRPERHT) between November 1992 and December 1993. The differential patterns were analyzed for respondents' selected characteristics, and multivariate analysis was performed employing logistic regression and proportional hazards models for life-threatening and high-risk complications during pregnancy.

Does service accessibility reduce socioeconomic differentials in maternity care seeking? Evidence from rural Bangladesh.

Maternal mortality is a serious public health concern in Bangladesh. However, most deaths could be prevented through proper and timely care seeking and adequate management. Unfortunately, fewer than half of pregnant women in Bangladesh seek antenatal care, and only one in eight receive delivery care from medically trained providers.

Complications during pregnancy, delivery, and postnatal stages and place of delivery in rural Bangladesh.

The utilization of safe motherhood services including maternity care in Bangladesh is very poor. Only a very small proportion of deliveries takes place in a hospital/clinic. This study is based on data from a follow-up study on maternal morbidity in rural Bangladesh.

Neonatal mortality in rural Bangladesh: an exploratory study.

Bangladesh has a neonatal death rate that is substantially high and demands urgent attention. To assess the causes of neonatal mortality, 1,019 pregnant women were followed up in eight randomly-selected rural areas of the country. Trained female interviewers visited the households of the subjects at four-week intervals to record neonatal deaths (within 28 days after birth).

Determinants of the use of maternal health services in rural Bangladesh.

Utilization of health services is a complex behavioral phenomenon. Empirical studies of preventive and curative services have often found that use of health services is related to the availability, quality and cost of services, as well as to social structure, health beliefs and personal characteristics of the users. In this paper an attempt is made to examine the factors associated with the use of maternal health care services in Bangladesh on the basis of data from a survey of maternal morbidity in Bangladesh, conducted by the Bangladesh Institute of Research for Promotion of Essential and Reproductive Health and Technologies (BIRPERHT).

Taking a medical history and using a colour scale during clinical examination of pallor improves detection of anaemia.

We developed a colour tint scale to use as an aid in the clinical assessment of anaemia by measuring conjunctival pallor. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the accuracy and agreement among observers in detecting anaemia in three sequential phases with incremental information using clinical pallor of different anatomical sites, subsequently adding subjects' medical history for physical symptoms and the colour scale. After training in the application of these three sequential assessments, 12 primary health workers were assigned to independently examine 198 anaemic and 254 non-anaemic pregnant women while blind to the true anaemic status.