Publications by authors named "Mastewal Belayneh Aklil"

Introduction: Pregnancy-related anxiety is a prevalent mental health issue that mostly affects women in low-income countries such as Ethiopia. It has been linked to unfavorable pregnancy outcomes, such as miscarriage, prematurity, and low birth weight. However, it has often received less attention, and community-based evidence lacks its prevalence and associated factors.

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Background: Maternal waiting homes have been identified as one strategy to reduce maternal and perinatal mortality by bringing women living in hard-to-reach areas closer to a health facility that provides emergency obstetric care. Even if utilization of maternal waiting homes is repeatedly assessed, there is a scarcity of evidence in Ethiopia regarding women's knowledge and attitude towards maternal waiting homes.

Objective: This study aimed to assess women's knowledge and attitude towards maternity waiting homes and associated factors among women who gave birth in the last twelve months in northwest Ethiopia.

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Introduction: Self-harm is a global public health concern affecting thousands of women. However, it is an under-reported and neglected aspect of maternal health, particularly in developing countries. In Ethiopia, there is a paucity of evidence regarding self-harm, and it is rarely given attention.

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Background: Depression is the most common mental health problem that affects women during pregnancy and after child-birth. Postpartum depression, in particular, has both short and long-term effects on the lives of mothers and children. Women's health is a current global concern, but postpartum depression is a neglected issue in the maternal continuum of care and is rarely addressed.

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Background: Improving maternal, neonatal and child health is one of the major components of Sustainable Development Goal and countries implement different strategies to achieve this goal. In spite of this, maternal, neonatal and child mortality remains a public health burden in the developing countries, including Ethiopia. World Health Organization recommend active involvement of men during pregnancy, child birth and the postpartum period as an effective strategy to improve maternal as well as newborn health.

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Background: Maternal and child mortality remains a major public health problem in Ethiopia. Improving short birth interval practice is a main strategy to reduce neonatal mortality, maternal mortality, adverse pregnancy outcomes, high fertility rate, and enhance economic development efforts. However, there has been limited study done regarding short birth intervals in the study area.

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Background: Consistent condom use plays a significant role in the successful protection of the transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in couples with sero-discordant HIV status, mother-to-child-transmission (MTCT), and acquiring other strains in HIV-positive concordant pairs. Limited data and information about this issue are available in low-resource setting countries, including the study setting. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the level of consistent condom use and its associated factors among HIV-positive pregnant women.

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Introduction: Although sleep disturbance is a community problem, there is limited study in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the prevalence and factors affecting postpartum poor sleep quality in women.

Method: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from July 1st to August 30th, 2021 in Gondar city.

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Background: Mental health problems have increased worldwide, particularly in developing countries. Currently, loneliness is widely understood as a painful subjective experience when the social connections a person has do not meet their interpersonal needs in respect to the quality or quantity of friendship or social interaction. It has been linked to unpleasant health consequences for both the mother and child.

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Background: In developing countries, intimate partner violence is increasing alarmingly, though attention to this issue is rarely given. It has devastating effects on the general wellbeing of women, pregnancy outcomes, and the long-term health of children, and this needs to be addressed. Hence, this study was designed to assess intimate partner violence and associated factors in northwest Ethiopia.

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Background: A woman can have fewer children when intervals between consecutive births are optimal. This has great importance for the well-being of women, pregnancy outcomes, and the long-term health of children under the age of five. We can save 2millon of the 11 million deaths of children under the age of five per year by avoiding short birth intervals.

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Background: It is imperative to ensure optimal vaccine uptake at the population level to combat the deadly COVID-19 pandemic disease. However, refusal of the COVID-19 vaccine, poor knowledge, and a negative attitude towards vaccination are the challenges of the world. College students are among the high-risk subgroups of the population to COVID-19 infection and the main source of information and trust in vaccines to the society.

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Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) causes more than five million deaths worldwide. Pregnant women are at high risk for infection due to the physiologic change in the immune and cardiopulmonary system and also it increases the risk of severe disease, intensive care unit admission, and receive mechanical ventilation when compared with non-pregnant women. It is associated with adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes.

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