Prevalence and Determinants of Antenatal Depression Risk Among Urban Women Seeking Antenatal Clinical Care at a District Hospital in Ghana.

Aim: To determine the prevalence and factors associated with antenatal depression risk among pregnant women attending antenatal care at a district hospital in Kumasi, Ghana.

Study Design: This was a hospital-based cross-sectional study.

Methods: A questionnaire was used to collect data from 207 pregnant women attending antenatal care at Manhyia District Hospital from September 2020 to November 2020.

Double cervical cerclage for cervical insufficiency: Case report.

Recurrent pregnancy loss devastates parents and frustrates doctors, especially when the pregnancy progresses to the second trimester. Cervical insufficiency is the most common cause of second-trimester pregnancy loss. Abdominal cerclage is the treatment option for women with failed vaginally applied cervical cerclage.

Assessment and determinants of acute post-caesarean section pain in a tertiary facility in Ghana.

Introduction: Caesarean sections (CS) feature prominently in obstetric care and have impacted positively on maternal / neonatal outcomes globally including Ghana. However, in spite of documented increasing CS rates in the country, there are no studies assessing the adequacy of post-CS pain control. This study assessed the adequacy of post-CS pain management as well as factors influencing this outcome.

The infrastructural capacity of Ghanaian health facilities to provide safe abortion and post-abortion care: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Ghana is one of few countries in sub-Saharan Africa with relatively liberal abortion laws, but little is known about the availability and quality of abortion services nationally. The aim of this study was to describe the availability and capacity of health facilities to deliver essential PAC and SAC services in Ghana.

Methods: We utilized data from a nationally representative survey of Ghanaian health facilities capable of providing post-abortion care (PAC) and/or safe abortion care (SAC) (n = 539).

Use of Fertility Awareness-Based Methods for Pregnancy Prevention Among Ghanaian Women: A Nationally Representative Cross-Sectional Survey.

Few studies in low- and middle-income countries have examined the use of fertility awareness-based methods (FABMs) for pregnancy prevention. Understanding the prevalence of FABM use among Ghanaian contraceptors and the characteristics and practices of users is essential. Our 2018 nationally representative survey of Ghanaian women included detailed questions on the use of rhythm and Standard Days Method/Cycle Beads (SDM).

Immediate "Kangaroo Mother Care" and Survival of Infants with Low Birth Weight.

Background: "Kangaroo mother care," a type of newborn care involving skin-to-skin contact with the mother or other caregiver, reduces mortality in infants with low birth weight (<2.0 kg) when initiated after stabilization, but the majority of deaths occur before stabilization. The safety and efficacy of kangaroo mother care initiated soon after birth among infants with low birth weight are uncertain.

Menstrual knowledge, sociocultural restrictions, and barriers to menstrual hygiene management in Ghana: Evidence from a multi-method survey among adolescent schoolgirls and schoolboys.

On a daily basis, schoolgirls in low and middle-income countries discover blood on their clothing for the first time in school environments without toilets, water, or a supportive teacher, mentor, or role model to help them understand the changes happening in their bodies. This study aimed to examine the menstrual knowledge, sociocultural restrictions, and barriers to menstrual hygiene management in school environment among adolescent schoolgirls in a rural community. We collected quantitative data from 250 adolescent schoolgirls and qualitative data from thirty schoolboys and five schoolteachers in five Junior High Schools in the Kumbungu district of northern Ghana.

Prevalence and Correlates of Perceived Infertility in Ghana.

Perceived infertility is an understudied phenomenon in low- and middle-income countries, where biomedical infertility can have severe consequences, particularly for women. We conducted a nationally representative survey of Ghanaian women, estimated the prevalence of and reasons for perceived infertility, and assessed factors associated with higher levels of perceived infertility using a partial proportional odds model. Among 4,070 women, 13 percent believed they were "very likely" to have difficulty getting pregnant when they wanted to, 21 percent believed this was "somewhat likely," and 66 percent believed this was "not at all likely.

Menstrual Hygiene Management and School Absenteeism among Adolescents in Ghana: Results from a School-Based Cross-Sectional Study in a Rural Community.

The study aimed to deepen our understanding of the menstrual hygiene management (MHM) of adolescents and the influence of menstruation on school absenteeism. We employed a school-based cross-sectional design in five Junior High Schools combining both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods. A questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data from 250 schoolgirls, and key informant interviews were conducted with a teacher in each of the five schools.

A Survey Study of Pregnant Women and Healthcare Practitioners Assessing the Knowledge of Attitudes and Practices of Hepatitis B Management at a Teaching Hospital in Kumasi, Ghana, West Africa.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major global health problem, with sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), including West Africa, bearing a large proportion of cases. Mother-to-child and early childhood horizontal transmission, the most common mechanisms of disease spread in West Africa, lead to a high rate of chronic infection. Although these transmission mechanisms are preventable through vaccine and hepatitis B immunoglobulin, they are not routinely used due to limited resources.

Understanding couples' relationship quality and contraceptive use in Kumasi, Ghana.

Context: A wealth of data exist on knowledge, attitudes and practice related to contraceptive use; however, emotional aspects of relationships that may influence reproductive decision making are often overlooked.

Methods: Data from the 2010 Family Health and Wealth Survey were used in bivariate and multinomial logistic regression analyses to identify associations between relationship quality and current contraceptive use among 698 married or cohabiting couples in Kumasi, Ghana. Four scales measuring commitment, trust, constructive communication and destructive communication, as well as a question about relationship satisfaction, were the indicators of relationship quality.