Utilisation of the partogram among nurses and midwives in selected health facilities in the Eastern Province of Rwanda.

Background: Maternal mortality continues to be a global burden, with more than 200 million women becoming pregnant each year and a large number dying as a result of complications of pregnancy or childbirth. The World Health Organisation has recommended use of the partogram to monitor labour and delivery in order to improve healthcare and reduce maternal and foetal mortality rates.

Objective: This study described factors affecting utilisation of the partogram among nurses and midwives in selected health facilities of Rwanda.

Integrating Prevention of Mother to Child HIV Transmission competencies into the nursing curriculum: Methodological lessons from a university-based undergraduate programme.

South Africa (SA) has the highest number of women infected with HIV and AIDS during pregnancy, which results in more than 70 000 infected babies being born each year AIDS is the major contributor to maternal and child morbidities and mortalities in the country. To combat this, the SA government has developed a national policy to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT). However, for effective implementation of this policy, there is a dire need for a competent, skilled health worker to render the service.

Community-based situation analysis of maternal and neonatal care in South Africa to explore factors that impact utilization of maternal health services.

This community situational analysis determined factors impacting the utilization of maternal health services in South Africa. Quantitative and qualitative research methods were used, including semistructured household interviews, case studies of women with no antenatal care and/or home birth, and verbal/social autopsies of maternal and infant deaths, conducted in three diverse sites across the country. Data analysis used quantitative statistics for the semistructured interviews and a qualitative thematic content approach for the case studies and verbal/social autopsies.