Objectives: To examine the impact of antenatal psychosocial stressors, including maternal common mental disorders (CMD), upon low birth weight, stillbirth and neonatal mortality, and other perinatal outcomes in rural Ethiopia.
Methods: A population-based sample of 1065 pregnant women was assessed for symptoms of antenatal CMD (Self-Reporting Questionnaire-20: SRQ-20), stressful life events during pregnancy (List of Threatening Experiences: LTE) and worry about the forthcoming delivery. In a sub-sample of 654 women from six rural sub-districts, neonatal birth weight was measured on 521 (79.7%) singleton babies within 48 h of delivery. Information about other perinatal outcomes was obtained shortly after birth from the mother's verbal report and via the Demographic Surveillance System.
Results: After adjusting for potential confounders, none of the psychosocial stressors were associated with lower mean birth weight, stillbirth or neonatal mortality. Increasing levels of antenatal CMD symptoms were associated both with prolonged labour (>24 h) (SRQ 1-5: RR 1.4; 95% CI 1.0-1.9, SRQ >or= 6: RR 1.6; 95% CI 1.0-2.6) and delaying initiation of breast-feeding more than eight hours (SRQ 1-5: RR 1.4; 95% CI 0.8 to 2.4, SRQ >or= 6: RR 2.8; 95% CI 1.3-6.1). Worry about delivery was also associated with labour longer than 24 h (RR 1.5; 95% CI 1.0-2.1).
Conclusions: This study provides preliminary evidence of important public health consequences of poor maternal mental health in low-income countries but does not replicate the strong association with low birth weight found in South Asia.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3156.2008.02198.x | DOI Listing |
Malar J
January 2025
Family and Community Health, Fred N. Binka School of Public Health, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Hohoe, Ghana.
Background: Malaria is a disease deeply rooted in poverty. Malaria in pregnant women leads to severe complications, including low birth weight and neonatal mortality, which can adversely affect both mother and child. This study aimed to identify the factors associated with malaria in pregnancy among women attending antenatal care (ANC) clinics in three districts of the Ashanti Region, Ghana.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMC Pregnancy Childbirth
January 2025
Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Background: Inadequate and excessive gestational weight gain (GWG) defined by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) has been associated with preterm birth. However, studies demonstrate inconsistent associations.
Objectives: We examined the associations between categorical and continuous total GWG and moderate to late preterm birth (32-<37 weeks), and evaluated differences in these associations by pre-pregnancy BMI.
BMC Pediatr
January 2025
Department of Research, School of Graduate studies, Research and Innovations, Clarke International University, Kampala, P.O. Box 7782, Uganda.
Background: Anaemia is a major cause of morbidity among children under five years in Uganda. However, its magnitude among refugee populations is marginally documented. In this study, the prevalence and contributors to anaemia among children 6 to 59 months in Kyangwali refugee settlement in Western Uganda was determined.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnn Epidemiol
January 2025
Emory University Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health.
Objective: To estimate associations between the length of state-level eviction moratoria enacted in March and April 2020 in the United States and perinatal outcomes.
Methods: We used data from natality files, 2020-2021 to identify individuals with Medicaid or no insurance who conceived in March-May 2020. The exposure was the number of months exposed to a moratorium (0 (referent, no state-level moratoria), 1-2, 3-4, 5 or more).
BMJ Open Ophthalmol
December 2024
Ophthalmology, Royal Hospital for Children, Glasgow, UK.
Background: Very premature infants screened for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) that do not develop ROP still experience serious visual developmental challenges, and while it is recommended that all children in the UK are offered preschool visual screening, we aimed to explore whether this vulnerable group requires dedicated follow-up.
Methods: We performed a real-world retrospective observational cohort study of children previously screened for ROP in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (Scotland) between 2013 and 2015. We excluded those with any severity of ROP identified during screening.
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