Category Archives: Maternal mortality

New article: Few pregnant women seek health care in Gedeo in southern Ethiopia

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Borde MT, Loha E, Johansson KA, Lindtjorn B (2019) Utilisation of health services fails to meet the needs of pregnancy-related illnesses in rural southern Ethiopia: A prospective cohort study. PLoS ONE 14(12): e0215195. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0215195

Although maternal survival has improved in the last decades, evidence on illnesses and the use of health services during pregnancy remains scarce. Therefore, we aimed to assess the incidence and risk factors for illnesses among pregnant women and measure the use of health services. A prospective cohort study was conducted in three kebeles in rural southern Ethiopia among 794 pregnant women from May 2017 to July 2018. Each woman was followed every two weeks at home. Poisson and survival regression models were used for analysis. The incidence rate of episodes of illnesses was 93 per 100 pregnant-woman-weeks (95%CI: 90.6, 94.2), with an average of eight episodes of illnesses per woman. Anaemia accounted for 22% (177 of 794 women), and hypertension 3% (21 women of 794 women). However, utilization of health services for any illness episodes was only 8% (95%CI: 7.6%, 8.9%). The main reasons for not using health services were that the women thought the illness would heal by itself, women thought the illness was not serious, women could not afford to visit the health institutions, or women lacked confidence in the health institutions. The risk factors for illnesses are having many previous pregnancies in life time (ARR = 1.42; 95%CI = 1.02, 1.96), having history of stillbirth (ARR = 1.30; 95%CI = 1.03, 1.64), having history of abortion (AHR = 1.06; 95%CI = 1.02, 1.11), and walking more than 60 minutes to access the nearest hospital (AHR = 1.08; 95%CI = 1.03, 1.14). The risk factors for low use of health services are also having history of abortion (AHR = 2.50; 95%CI = 1.00, 6.01) and walking more than 60 minutes to access the nearest hospital (AHR = 1.91; 95%CI = 1.00, 3.63). Rural Ethiopian pregnant women experience a high burden of illness during pregnancy. Unfortunately, very few of these women utilize health services.

Reducing stillbirths in Ethiopia

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Lindtjorn B, Mitike D, Zidda Z, Yaya Y. Reducing stillbirths in Ethiopia: Results of an intervention programme. PLoS One. 2018;13(5):e0197708. Epub 2018/05/31. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0197708. PubMed PMID: 29847607.

Previous studies from South Ethiopia have shown that interventions that focus on intrapartum care substantially reduce maternal mortality and there is a need to operationalize health packages that could reduce stillbirths. The aim of this paper is to evaluate if a programme that aimed to improve maternal health, and mainly focusing on strengthening intrapartum care, also would reduce the number of stillbirths, and to estimate if there are other indicators that explains high stillbirth rates. Our study used a “continuum of care” approach and focussed on providing essential antenatal and obstetric services in communities through health extension workers, at antenatal and health facility services. In this follow up study, which includes the same 38.312 births registered by community health workers, shows that interventions focusing on improved intrapartum care can also reduce stillbirths (by 46%; from 14.5 to 7.8 per 1000 births). Other risk factors for stillbirths are mainly related to complications during delivery and illnesses during pregnancy. We show that focusing on Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric Care and antenatal services reduces stillbirths. However, the study also underlines that illnesses during pregnancy and complications during delivery still represent the main risk factors for stillbirths. This indicates that obstetric care need still to be strengthened, should include the continuum of care from home to the health facility, make care accessible to all, and reduce delays.

 

Reducing maternal deaths in Southwest Ethiopia

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Lindtjørn B, Mitiku D, Zidda Z, Yaya Y (2017) Reducing Maternal Deaths in Ethiopia: Results of an Intervention Programme in Southwest Ethiopia. PLoS ONE 12(1): e0169304. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0169304

Background  In a large population in Southwest Ethiopia (population 700,000), we carried out a complex set of interventions with the aim of reducing maternal mortality. This study evaluated the effects of several coordinated interventions to help improve effective coverage and reduce maternal deaths. Together with the Ministry of Health in Ethiopia, we designed a project to strengthen the health-care system. A particular emphasis was given to upgrade existing institutions so that they could carry out Basic (BEmOC) and Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric Care (CEmOC). Health institutions were upgraded by training non-clinical physicians and midwives by providing the institutions with essential and basic equipment, and by regular monitoring and supervision by staff competent in emergency obstetric work.

Results  In this implementation study, the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) was the primary outcome. The study was carried out from 2010 to 2013 in three districts, and we registered 38,312 births. The MMR declined by 64% during the intervention period from 477 to 219 deaths per 100,000 live births (OR 0.46; 95% CI 0.24–0.88). The decline in MMR was higher for the districts with CEmOC, while the mean number of antenatal visits for each woman was 2.6 (Inter Quartile Range 2–4). The percentage of pregnant women who attended four or more antenatal controls increased by 20%, with the number of women who delivered at home declining by 10.5% (P<0.001). Similarly, the number of deliveries at health posts, health centres and hospitals increased, and we observed a decline in the use of traditional birth attendants. Households living near to all-weather roads had lower maternal mortality rates (MMR 220) compared with households without roads (MMR 598; OR 2.72 (95% CI 1.61–4.61)).

Conclusions  Our results show that it is possible to achieve substantial reductions in maternal mortality rates over a short period of time if the effective coverage of well-known interventions is implemented.

Quality of delivery care services

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Tesfaye R, Worku A, Godana W, Lindtjorn B: Client Satisfaction with Delivery Care Service and Associated Factors in the Public Health Facilities of Gamo Gofa Zone, Southwest Ethiopia:In a Resource Limited Setting. Obstetrics and Gynecology International 2016, 2016:1-7.

Background. Ensuring patient satisfaction is an important means of secondary prevention of maternal mortality. This study presents findings from a multidimensional study of client satisfaction from the Gamo Gofa Zone in Southwest Ethiopia. Methods. A facility based cross-sectional study using exit interviews was conducted from 2014. Client satisfaction was measured using a survey adopted from the Donabedian quality assessment framework. Thirteen health institutions were randomly sampled of 66 institutions in Gamo Gofa Zone. Logistic regression was used to determine predictors of client satisfaction.

Results. The overall satisfaction level of the clients in this study was 79.1% with (95% CI; 75–82). Women attending health centres were more likely satisfied than women attending hospitals . The proportion of women who complained about an unfriendly attitude or unresentful care from health workers was higher in the hospitals. The presence of support persons during child birth improved client satisfaction (AOR = 6.23 95% CI; 2.75–14.1) and women who delivered with caesarean section are four times more likely satisfied than those who deliver vaginally (AOR 3.6 95% CI; 1.44–9.06). Client satisfaction was reduced if the women had to pay for the services (AOR = 0.27 95% CI; 0.09–81).

Conclusions. The study shows that overall satisfaction level is good. More emphasis should be put on giving women friendly care, particularly at the hospitals.

 

Yalio Yaya defends his PhD thesis

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Yaliso-front-pageThe overall objective of the PhD thesis is to measure and compare maternal and neonatal mortality and obstetric services through community- and facility-based methods in southern Ethiopia. Yaliso Yaya used four different methods to measure maternal mortality:

  1. A prospective community-based birth registry managed by health extension workers in 75 rural villages in three districts in south Ethiopia (population 421 639)
  2. A household survey conducted in 6 572 households in 15 randomly selected rural villages in the district of Bonke, with questions about pregnancy and birth outcomes in the last five years
  3. A household survey among 8 503 adult siblings using the sisterhood method
  4. A facility-based review of records in all 63 health centres and three hospitals in Gamo Gofa zone.

Neonatal mortality was measured with the second method, and emergency obstetric services were assessed through the facility-based review.

The thesis is based on a thorough and systematic registration of adverse events during several years, using multiple methods. This allows validation of estimates, and it presents detailed and precise information about maternal mortality rates from rural south Ethiopia.

A special focus of the work is on the finding that community based health workers (Health Extension Workers) can be used to generate maternal mortality data, thus alleviating the chronic problem of unavailability of valid and timely mortality data.

The PhD thesis can be downloaded here.

Improving birth and pregnancy-outcomes through registries in southern Ethiopia

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Recently, Yaliso Yaya, PhD candidate at  The Centre for International Health wrote the following post as part of the The Maternal Health Task Force series Translating Research into Practice Series. 

Ethiopia ambulances maternal mortality

Motorcycle ambulances have been useful for transporting mothers with complications to health facilities. The message in Amharic reads “A mother should not die while giving life.” (Photo: Demissew Mitiku).

Unfortunately, there is still limited information to oversee maternal and newborn mortality interventions in low-income countries. Developing countries lack vital registrations that are present in high-income countries. Because of the shortage of such essential information, translating policy into action and monitoring programmes to reduce maternal and neonatal deaths is difficult.

The new Sustainable Development Goals divide countries into three groups where the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) is greater than 400, between 100 and 400, and less than 100 based on the ratio in 2010. Such a grouping is necessary because different ratios may determine different intervention strategies. Unfortunately, for many countries there is a controversy over the level of the MMR. If we use Ethiopia as an example, a UN estimate of MMR in 2010 is 350 per 100,000 live births, whereas the DHS estimated it to be 676 for the same year.

As a follow-up to our paper, Maternal and Neonatal Mortality in South-West Ethiopia: Estimates and Socio-Economic Inequality, we developed, validated, and used community based birth registration in a population of about half a million people in four woredas, or districts, in rural southern Ethiopia. We aimed to estimate maternal mortality rates and to monitor progress in reducing deaths. The most important lesson we learnt, that may be applicable in similar settings in Ethiopia and in Africa, is that it is possible to obtain high-coverage birth registration and measure maternal mortality in rural communities with trained community health workers.

In southern Ethiopia, the MMR was high and most births and maternal deaths occurred at home. The MMR was about 500 per 100,000 live births in 2010, and data from 2014 show that this ratio may have been reduced by about 60%.

We also registered that when women’s access to comprehensive and basic obstetric services improves, a birth registration system can document important societal changes:

  1. Significantly increased institutional delivery rates
  2. Decreased use of traditional birth attendants
  3. More than half of women who deliver attend three or more antenatal care visits

In our experience, it is possible to register most births in rural Ethiopian communities using the health extension workers. However, we advise that a birth registry should be expanded to include registration of pregnancies as well as pregnancy outcomes. Such a system could provide the community health workers with a new tool to actively follow up pregnant women and ensure proper antenatal controls and referrals to institutions. It could also help in monitoring neonatal heath and be a tool to provide essential services to women in the weeks after birth.

Update: RMM projects in south-west Ethiopia

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The aim of the RMM (Reducing Maternal Mortality) programme in Saggen, Gamo Gofa Zone and in Basketto is to reduce maternal and neonatal deaths.

RMM-institutionsDuring the first phase (2008 – 2011), we worked to set up and strengthen institutions doing Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric care (CEmOC). Arba Minch Hospital was the training centre, Saula Hospital and Chencha Hospital, and Kemba, Basketto and Melo Health Centres started to do caesarean sections through support by our project. All these institutions are now regularly doing caesarean.

The challenge we noted during the first phase was that large populations living in our target areas still have limited access to delivery services.

During the second phase (2012 – 2016) we aim to increase the coverage of Basic and Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric Care. Our aim is to improve the access to delivery services. We do this by strengthening health centres to do Basic Emergency Obstetric Care. We also link the work at these health centres to health posts in the kebeles, and to improve referrals to institutions doing caesarean sections.

During the last year the number of institutions doing Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric care (CEmOC) has increased by four; in Bonke woreda (Gezzeso), in Beto and in Selam Berr (Kucha), and in Kolme and in Gawada.. The map shows the institutions doing CEmOC on the area. So, The number of institutions doing comprehensive emergency care is now about one institution per 250.000 people, a great improvement since 2007 when the figure was one institution per 2.5 million people.

We also collaborate with the Midwife School in Arba Minch, and currently they are evaluating how well the midwives that graduated from their school are performing (See Master thesis by Rahel Tesfaye). This will give us essential information on how to improve the quality of midwife training, and thus of RMM work.

To monitor this work and see if the project meets its societal objectives (reduced death rates), we register births and maternal deaths in four woredas with a population of about 600.000. In a recent research we have shown that it is possible to achieve high coverage community birth registration in rural Ethiopia. Such registration can be an important tool to monitor births and birth outcomes such as maternal mortality in resource-limited settings (Yaliso et al 2014, PLoSONE in press).  Our results (unpublished) show that maternal deaths have since 2008 been reduced by 2/3. The institutional delivery rates have also increased substantially, and the use of traditional birth attendants is decreasing. We also see some early signs of decreasing neonatal deaths. In some areas the institutional delivery rates approach 60%.

Even if our results are encouraging, many challenges remain. The birth registration shows that highest maternal deaths rates are among women who live in remote areas, and among women who report illness during pregnancy. One study show that children born to poor women have higher death rates compared with richer families. So, in the coming years will focus on improved quality of care, particularly focusing on improving access, and on managing illness during pregnancy. We will also try to develop tools to identify the poor that are in need of special attention.

Publications

Yaya Y, Data T, and Lindtjørn B. Maternal mortality in rural south Ethiopia: Feasibility of community-based birth registration by Health Extension Workers.  (Manuscript submitted 2014).

Yaya Y, Eide KT, Norheim OF, Lindtjørn B (2014) Maternal and Neonatal Mortality in South-West Ethiopia: Estimates and Socio-Economic Inequality.PLoS ONE 9(4): e96294. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0096294

Girma M, Yaya Y, Gebrehanna E, Berhane Y, Lindtjørn B. (2013). Lifesaving emergency obstetric services are inadequate in south-west Ethiopia: a formidable challenge to reducing maternal mortality in Ethiopia. BMC Health Services Research 2013; 13(1):459.

Yaya Y, Lindtjørn B (2012). High maternal mortality in rural south-west Ethiopia: estimate by using the sisterhood method. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth 2012; 12: 136.

Rahel Tesfaye. Client Satisfaction with Delivery Care Services and Associated Factors in the Public Health Facility of Gamo Gofa Zone, South West Ethiopia. 2014. Arba Minch University and Addis Continental Institute of Public Health.

For complete list of publications from this project click here.

New master thesis on patient satisfaction at delivery services

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Rahel Tesfaye.Client Satisfaction with Delivery Care Services and Associated Factors in the Public Health Facility of Gamo Gofa Zone, South West Ethiopia. 2014. Arba Minch University and Addis Continental Institute of Public Health.

Background Ensuring patient satisfaction is an important means of secondary prevention of maternal mortality. Satisfied women may be more likely to follow to health providers’ recommendations. And, studying patient satisfaction can help to improve services, and reduce costs. However, so far there few reports on client satisfaction on delivery care from developing countries. This study presents findings from a multi-dimensional study of client satisfaction from the Gamo Gofa Zone in South-West Ethiopia.

Objective The aim of this study was to assess how satisfied clients using delivery services at public health facilities are Gamo Gofa zone in South-West Ethiopia.

Methods Using exit interviews and we did a facility based cross sectional study in December 2013 and January 2014. We measured client satisfaction using a survey adopted from the Donabedian quality assessment framework. We randomly sampled 13 of 66 institutions in Gamo Gofa. The number of delivering mothers in each health institution was based on proportional to size allocation. We used logistic regression to determine predictors of client satisfaction.

Results Most of mothers (79%; 95% CI; 75-82%) were satisfied with delivery care. The presence of support persons during child birth improved satisfaction (AOR=8.19 95% CI; 3.49-18.8). ), as were women who delivered with caesarean section (AOR 2.99; 95% CI; 1.17 -7.66). However, client satisfaction was reduced if the women had to pay for the services (AOR=0.13 95%CI; 0.06-0.29). Women attending hospitals were less satisfied (69%) than women attending health centres (94%). The proportion of women who complained about an unfriendly attitude from health workers was higher in the hospitals.

Conclusions The study shows that that overall satisfaction level good, but there is room for improvements. More emphasis should be to have women friendly care, especially at the hospitals

Maternal and Neonatal Mortality in South-West Ethiopia

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Yaya Y, Eide KT, Norheim OF, Lindtjørn B (2014) Maternal and Neonatal Mortality in South-West Ethiopia: Estimates and Socio-Economic Inequality. PLoS ONE 9(4): e96294. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0096294

Introduction  Ethiopia has achieved the fourth Millennium Development Goal by reducing under 5 mortality. Nevertheless, there are challenges in reducing maternal and neonatal mortality. The aim of this study was to estimate maternal and neonatal mortality and the socio-economic inequalities of these mortalities in rural south-west Ethiopia.

Methods  We visited and enumerated all households but collected data from those that reported pregnancy and birth outcomes in the last five years in 15 of the 30 rural kebeles in Bonke woreda, Gamo Gofa, south-west Ethiopia. The primary outcomes were maternal and neonatal mortality and a secondary outcome was the rate of institutional delivery.

Results  We found 11,762 births in 6572 households; 11,536 live and 226 stillbirths. There were 49 maternal deaths; yielding a maternal mortality ratio of 425 per 100,000 live births (95% CI:318–556). The poorest households had greater MMR compared to richest (550 vs 239 per 100,000 live births). However, the socio-economic factors examined did not have statistically significant association with maternal mortality. There were 308 neonatal deaths; resulting in a neonatal mortality ratio of 27 per 1000 live births (95% CI: 24–30). Neonatal mortality was greater in households in the poorest quartile compared to the richest; adjusted OR (AOR): 2.62 (95% CI: 1.65–4.15), headed by illiterates compared to better educated; AOR: 3.54 (95% CI: 1.11–11.30), far from road (≥6 km) compared to within 5 km; AOR: 2.40 (95% CI: 1.56–3.69), that had three or more births in five years compared to two or less; AOR: 3.22 (95% CI: 2.45–4.22). Households with maternal mortality had an increased risk of stillbirths; OR: 11.6 (95% CI: 6.00–22.7), and neonatal deaths; OR: 7.2 (95% CI: 3.6–14.3). Institutional delivery was only 3.7%.

Conclusion  High mortality with socio-economic inequality and low institutional delivery highlight the importance of strengthening obstetric interventions in rural south-west Ethiopia.

Publications on Reducing Maternal Deaths

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Yaya Y, Lindtjørn B. High maternal mortality in rural south-west Ethiopia: estimate by using the sisterhood method. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth 2012; 12: 136.

Girma M, Yaya Y, Gebrehanna E, Berhane Y, Lindtjørn B. Lifesaving emergency obstetric services are inadequate in south-west Ethiopia: a formidable challenge to reducing maternal mortality in Ethiopia. BMC Health Services Research 2013; 13(1):459.

Yaya Y, Eide KT, Norheim OF, Lindtjørn B. Maternal and neonatal mortality in south-west Ethiopia: Estimates and socio-economic inequality. Under review in PLoS ONE (2014)

Yaya Y, Data T, and Lindtjørn B. Maternal mortality in rural Ethiopia: Feasibility of community-based birth registration by the Health Extension Workers (Manuscript submitted 2014).

Master Degree Thesis

Tadesse Data. Quality check household survey on community birth registry in Bonke woreda in Gamu Gofa Zone in South-west Ethiopia. 2011.Addis Continental Institute of Public Health and University of Gondar.

Meseret Girma Abate. Assessment of availability and utilisation of Emergency Obstetric Care Services In Gamo Gofa Zone, SNNRP, Ethiopia. 2011. Addis Continental Institute of Public Health and University of Gondar.

Ongoing Master degree research projects:

Rahel Tesfaye. Assessment Of Quality Of Intrapartum Care In   Gamo-Gofa Zone, SNNRP, Ethiopia. Arba Minch University, expected to finish in 2014.

Demeke Damota. Factors affecting institutional delivery in Arba Minch Town (Gamo Gofa Zone). Expected to finish in 2014.

Zillo Zidda. Topic: Results of Caesarean sections done in the RMM project.  Arba Minch University, expected to finish in 2015.

Demissew Mitike. Topic: Increasing institutional delivery rates in Seggen Zone.  Arba Minch University, expected to finish in 2015.

Planned publications:

Reducing maternal mortality in South Ethiopia: Results of a decentralised health care model (2008 – 2013): 2014 Manuscript.

Preliminary reports:

Lindtjørn B. Caesarean sections done by health officers in south-west Ethiopia. See Report (26. November 2009).