The study investigates the effect of wealth on maternal health care utilization in Ghana via its effect on Antenatal care use. Antenatal care serves as the initial point of contact of expectant mothers to maternal health care providers before delivery. The study is pivoted on the introduction of the free maternal health care policy in April 2005 in Ghana with the aim of reducing the financial barrier to the use of maternal health care services, to help reduce the high rate of maternal deaths. Prior to the introduction of the policy, studies found wealth to have a positive and significant influence on the use of Antenatal care. It is thus expected that with the policy, wealth should not influence the use of maternal health care significantly. Using secondary data from the 2008 Ghana Demographic and Health survey, the results have revealed that wealth still has a significant influence on adequate use of Antenatal care. Education, age, number of living children, transportation and health insurance are other factors that were found to influence the use of Antenatal care in Ghana. There also exist considerable variations in the use of Antenatal care in the geographical regions and between the rural and urban dwellers. It is recommended that to improve the use of Antenatal care and hence maternal health care utilization, some means of support is provided especially to women within the lowest wealth quintiles, like the provision and availability of recommended medication at the health center; secondly, women should be encouraged to pursue education to at least the secondary level since this improves their use of maternal health services. Policy should also target mothers who have had the experience of child birth on the need to use adequate Antenatal care for each pregnancy, since these mothers tend to use less antenatal care for subsequent pregnancies. The regional disparities found may be due to inaccessibility and unavailability of health facilities and services in the rural areas and in some of the regions. The government and other service providers (NGOs, religious institutions and private providers) may endeavor to improve on the distribution of health facilities, human resources, good roads and necessary infrastructure among other things in order to facilitate easy access to health care providers especially for the rural dwellers.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/2191-1991-2-14 | DOI Listing |
Biomed Res Int
January 2025
Department of Biology, College of Natural & Computational Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia.
Hepatitis and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are major public health issues in developing countries, including Ethiopia. These viruses can be transmitted from mother to child during birth or through contact with contaminated blood. In many areas of Ethiopia, viral hepatitis and HIV infections are significant health concerns for pregnant women.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGenet Med Open
October 2024
Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, Medical School, University of Exeter, St Luke's Campus, Exeter, United Kingdom.
Purpose: We sought to evaluate outcomes for clinical management after a genetic diagnosis from the Deciphering Developmental Disorders study.
Methods: Individuals in the Deciphering Developmental Disorders study who had a pathogenic/likely pathogenic genotype in the DECIPHER database were selected for inclusion ( = 5010). Clinical notes from regional clinical genetics services notes were reviewed to assess predefined clinical outcomes relating to interventions, prenatal choices, and information provision.
Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol
January 2025
Judith Lumley Centre, School of Nursing and Midwifery, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Background: In Australia, during the COVID-19 pandemic many routine pregnancy visits were replaced by telehealth, along with changes to routine screening and visitor policies. Many providers plan to continue these changes.
Aims: Describe changes to maternity care provision across the state of Victoria during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Infant Ment Health J
January 2025
Canterbury Child Development Research Group, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand.
Children born to mothers with opioid use disorder (OUD) are at increased risk of maltreatment and out-of-home care (OOHC) placement. This study examines the parent-child interaction quality and home environments of 92 New Zealand children with prenatal opioid exposure (OE) and 106 non-opioid-exposed (NE) children. Experiences for those in maternal care versus OOHC were of particular interest.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEur J Pediatr
January 2025
Unit of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo Francesco Vito 1, Rome, Italy.
Trisomy 18 is a severe aneuploidy associated with multiple malformations and a poor prognosis. The diagnosis is typically made prenatally, leading to a high rate of pregnancy terminations. The aim of this study is to demonstrate that even though the prognosis is heterogeneous, prolonged survival is possible and these children are an enrichment for their families after all.
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