Standards-based audit to improve quality of maternal and newborn care-A stepped-wedge cluster randomised trial in Malawi.

Background: Audit is a quality improvement approach used in maternal and newborn health. Our objective was to introduce the practice of standards-based audit at healthcare facility level, and to examine if this would improve quality of care assessed by compliance with standards developed and agreed with healthcare providers. Our focus was on emergency obstetric and newborn care (EmONC).

The occurrence of and factors associated with mental ill-health amongst humanitarian aid workers: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Humanitarian crises and disasters affect millions of people worldwide. Humanitarian aid workers are civilians or professionals who respond to disasters and provide humanitarian assistance. In doing so, they face several stressors and traumatic exposures.

Essential components of postnatal care - a systematic literature review and development of signal functions to guide monitoring and evaluation.

Background: Postnatal Care (PNC) is one of the healthcare-packages in the continuum of care for mothers and children that needs to be in place to reduce global maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity. We sought to identify the essential components of PNC and develop signal functions to reflect these which can be used for the monitoring and evaluation of availability and quality of PNC.

Methods: Systematic review of the literature using MESH headings for databases (Cinahl, Cochrane, Global Health, Medline, PubMed, and Web of Science).

Physical morbidity and psychological and social comorbidities at five stages during pregnancy and after childbirth: a multicountry cross-sectional survey.

Objective: Maternal morbidity affects millions of women, the burden of which is highest in low resource settings. We sought to explore when this ill-health occurs and is most significant.

Settings: A descriptive observational cross-sectional study at primary and secondary-level healthcare facilities in India, Pakistan, Kenya and Malawi.

Transdisciplinary Imagination: Addressing Equity and Mistreatment in Perinatal Care.

Inequities in birth outcomes are linked to experiential and environmental exposures. There have been expanding and intersecting wicked problems of inequity, racism, and quality gaps in childbearing care during the pandemic. We describe how an intentional transdisciplinary process led to development of a novel knowledge exchange vehicle that can improve health equity in perinatal services.

Where is the 'C' in antenatal care and postnatal care: A multi-country survey of availability of antenatal and postnatal care in low- and middle-income settings.

Objective: Antenatal (ANC) and postnatal care (PNC) are logical entry points for prevention and treatment of pregnancy-related illness and to reduce perinatal mortality. We developed signal functions and assessed availability of the essential components of care.

Design: Cross-sectional survey.

Keep it simple - Effective training in obstetrics for low- and middle-income countries.

In low-and middle-income countries, the burden of disease related to pregnancy and childbirth remains high. The health of the mother is intricately linked to that of the baby. Neonatal mortality is most likely to occur in the first week of life accounting for almost half of all deaths among children under 5-year old.

Factors influencing motivation and job satisfaction of community health workers in Africa and Asia-A multi-country study.

As key stakeholders continue to affirm the relevance of community health workers (CHWs) in universal health coverage, there is a need for a commensurate focus on their motivation and job satisfaction especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where they play prominent roles. Despite the wealth of literature on motivation and job satisfaction, many studies draw on research conducted in high-income settings. This study explored factors influencing motivation and satisfaction among CHWs in LMICs.

Experiences and impact of international medical volunteering: a multi-country mixed methods study.

Objective: To assess the experience and impact of medical volunteers who facilitated training workshops for healthcare providers in maternal and newborn emergency care in 13 countries.

Settings: Bangladesh, Ghana, India, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, UK and Zimbabwe.

Participants: Medical volunteers from the UK (n=162) and from low-income and middle-income countries (LMIC) (n=138).

Work-based risk factors and quality of life in health care workers providing maternal and newborn care during the Sierra Leone Ebola epidemic: findings using the WHOQOL-BREF and HSE Management Standards Tool.

Introduction: Before the 2014, Ebola epidemic in Sierra Leone, healthcare workers (HCWs) faced many challenges. Workload and personal risk of HCWs increased but their experiences of these have not been well explored. HCWs evaluation of their quality of life (QoL) and risk factors for developing work-based stress is important in helping to develop a strong and committed workforce in a resilient health system.

Maternal multimorbidity during pregnancy and after childbirth in women in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic literature review.

Background: For every maternal death, 20 to 30 women are estimated to have morbidities related to pregnancy or childbirth. Much of this burden of disease is in women in low- and middle-income countries. Maternal multimorbidity can include physical, psychological and social ill-health.

Prospective study to explore changes in quality of care and perinatal outcomes after implementation of perinatal death audit in Uganda.

Objective: To assess the effects of perinatal death (PND) audit on perinatal outcomes in a tertiary hospital in Kampala.

Design: Interrupted time series (ITS) analysis.

Setting: Nsambya Hospital, Uganda.

Interventions for women who report domestic violence during and after pregnancy in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic literature review.

Background: Domestic violence is a leading cause of social morbidity and may increase during and after pregnancy. In high-income countries screening, referral and management interventions are available as part of standard maternity care. Such practice is not routine in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) where the burden of social morbidity is high.

Availability and use of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) for neonatal care in public health facilities in India: a cross-sectional cluster survey.

Objectives: To determine the availability of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) and to provide an overview of its use in neonatal units in government hospitals across India.

Setting: Cross-sectional cluster survey of a nationally representative sample of government hospitals from across India.

Primary Outcomes: Availability of CPAP in neonatal units.

'Good health means being mentally, socially, emotionally and physically fit': women's understanding of health and ill health during and after pregnancy in India and Pakistan: a qualitative study.

Objective: To explore what women consider health and ill health to be, in general, and during and after pregnancy. Women's views on how to approach screening for mental ill health and social morbidities were also explored.

Settings: Public hospitals in New Delhi, India and Islamabad, Pakistan.

Understanding cause of stillbirth: a prospective observational multi-country study from sub-Saharan Africa.

Background: Every year, an estimated 2.6 million stillbirths occur worldwide, with up to 98% occurring in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). There is a paucity of primary data on cause of stillbirth from LMIC, and particularly from sub-Saharan Africa to inform effective interventions.

Effects of emergency obstetric care training on maternal and perinatal outcomes: a stepped wedge cluster randomised trial in South Africa.

Introduction: Two-thirds of maternal deaths and 40% of intrapartum-related neonatal deaths are thought to be preventable through emergency obstetric and newborn care (EmOC&NC). The effectiveness of 'skills and drills' training of maternity staff in EmOC&NC was evaluated.

Methods: Implementation research using a stepped wedge cluster randomised trial including 127 of 129 healthcare facilities (HCFs) across the 11 districts in South Africa with the highest maternal mortality.

Maternal morbidity: a longitudinal study of women's health during and up to 22 months after pregnancy in Jamaica.

Our study evaluated factors associated with ill-health in a population-based longitudinal study of women who delivered a singleton live-born baby in a 3-month period across Jamaica. Socio-demographics, perception of health, chronic illnesses, frequency and reasons for hospital admission were assessed. Relationships between ill-health and maternal characteristics were estimated using log-normal regression analysis.

Sexually Transmitted Infections in Pregnancy and Reproductive Health: Proceedings of the STAR Sexually Transmitted Infection Clinical Trial Group Programmatic Meeting.

The goal of the STAR Sexually Transmitted Infection Clinical Trial Group (STI CTG) Programmatic meeting on Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) in Pregnancy and Reproductive Health in April 2018 was to review the latest research and develop recommendations to improve prevention and management of STIs during pregnancy. Experts from academia, government, nonprofit, and industry discussed the burden of STIs during pregnancy; the impact of STIs on adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes; interventions that work to reduce STIs in pregnancy, and the evidence, policy, and technology needed to improve STI care during pregnancy. Key points of the meeting are as follows: (i) alternative treatments and therapies for use during pregnancy are needed; (ii) further research into the relationship between the vaginal microbiome and STIs during pregnancy should be supported; (iii) more research to determine whether STI tests function equally well in pregnant as nonpregnant women is needed; (iv) development of new lower cost, rapid point-of-care testing assays could allow for expanded STI screening globally; (v) policies should be implemented that create standard screening and treatment practices globally; (vi) federal funding should be increased for STI testing and treatment initiatives supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Centers of Excellence in STI Treatment, public STD clinics, and the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

Correction to: "I just wish it becomes part of routine care": healthcare providers' knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of screening for maternal mental health during and after pregnancy: a qualitative study.

Following publication of the original article [1], we have been notified of a few mistakes in the display of the author names. The publisher apologizes for the inconvenience.

Early life risk factors of motor, cognitive and language development: a pooled analysis of studies from low/middle-income countries.

Objective: To determine the magnitude of relationships of early life factors with child development in low/middle-income countries (LMICs).

Design: Meta-analyses of standardised mean differences (SMDs) estimated from published and unpublished data.

Data Sources: We searched Medline, bibliographies of key articles and reviews, and grey literature to identify studies from LMICs that collected data on early life exposures and child development.

Happy Mother's Day? Maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity in low- and middle-income countries.

At least 800 women die each day during pregnancy or birth and more than 15 000 babies each day are stillborn or die in the first month of life. Almost all of these deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. Many more women and babies are known to suffer morbidity as a result of pregnancy and childbirth.

"I just wish it becomes part of routine care": healthcare providers' knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of screening for maternal mental health during and after pregnancy: a qualitative study.

Background: Maternal mental health is an international public health concern. Many women experience mental ill-health during and after pregnancy, but assessment is not part of routine maternity care in many low- and middle-income countries. Healthcare providers are in a position to identify and support women who experience mental health disorders during and after pregnancy.

The roles of community health workers who provide maternal and newborn health services: case studies from Africa and Asia.

Introduction: A variety of community health workers (CHWs) provide maternal and newborn health (MNH) services in low-income and middle-income settings. However, there is a need for a better understanding of the diversity in type of CHW in each setting and responsibility, role, training duration and type of remuneration.

Methods: We identified CHWs providing MNH services in Bangladesh, India, Kenya, Malawi and Nigeria by reviewing 23 policy documents and conducting 36 focus group discussions and 131 key informant interviews.