Background: Refugees and conflict-affected areas are often unreached by national strategies and programs. As a result, high unmet needs are more likely because of their social interruption with their traditional information sources, support, protection, and lack of income which limits refugees' ability to make a free choice that would allow them to plan and space the number of children they desire. Information on the unmet needs of internally displaced persons (IDPs) women is scarce. This study is aimed at assessing the magnitude of the unmet need for modern contraceptive methods and associated factors among IDPs currently married reproductive-age women. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 393 internally displaced women currently married reproductive-age women using a simple random sampling method using a structured, pretested, and interview-administered questionnaire. A logistic regression model was used to identify associated factors. Statistically significant variables at p value < 0.25 in the bivariate analysis were entered into multivariable analysis, and statistical significance was declared at p value ≤ 0.05. Results: About 160 (40.7%) (95% CI: 35.94%-45.67%) of women had an unmet need for modern contraceptive methods, 139 (35.4%) for spacing, and 21 (5.3%) for limiting. Less than 18 years of age at first marriage, lack of access to modern contraception, lack of discussion with healthcare providers, and travel time of 30 min or more to obtain family planning were found to be risk factors for unmet contraceptive needs. The risk of unmet need for modern contraceptives was high among women who were married at age of less than 18 years of age in comparison with women who were married at 18 and above (AOR = 1.559; 95%CI = 1.019-2.385). Unmet needs were higher among participants who had no adequate availability of modern contraceptive methods than those who had adequate availability of modern contraceptive methods (AOR = 1.738; 95%CI = 1.125-2.684). Similarly, the odds of unmet needs were 1.673 times higher among participants who did not discuss FP with healthcare providers than those who discussed FP with healthcare providers (AOR = 1.673; 95%CI = 1.085-2.581). Moreover, the odds of unmet needs were 1.551 times higher among participants who traveled 30 min and above to access family planning services as compared to those respondents who traveled below 30 min (AOR = 1.551; 95%CI = 1.002-2.401). Conclusion and Recommendations: The magnitude of the unmet need for modern contraceptive methods was higher than both the Ethiopian national and Oromia regional state total unmet need for the general population. Governmental and nongovernmental organizations should increase their efforts to reduce this high magnitude of unmet needs by emphasizing those factors that have a great contribution to unmet needs.

Introduction: Teenage pregnancy is a global public health challenge, and it is a major contributor to the high maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality rates reported in sub-Saharan Africa and Uganda. However, there is a paucity of data regarding pregnancy outcomes and their associated factors among teenagers in Uganda. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence and factors associated with pregnancy outcomes among teenagers who delivered at a National Referral Hospital in Kampala, Uganda.Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among teenage mothers who delivered at a National Referral Hospital in Kampala, Uganda. Consecutive participant recruitment was done for those who fulfilled the eligibility criteria. The outcomes of interest included adverse maternal outcome with obstructed labor being used as a proxy and adverse fetal outcomes with birth asphyxia used as a proxy. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the association between independent and dependent variables with a 5% level of statistical significance (α = 0.05).Results: Teenage pregnancy was associated with adverse maternal outcomes which included obstructed labor (18%) and preterm labor (5.5%). There were no maternal deaths during the study period. Adverse fetal outcomes observed in this study population included low birth weight (83%), birth asphyxia (18%), and stillbirth (4%). The only factor associated with adverse maternal outcome was gestational age where teenage mothers had 4 times likelihood of delivering before 37 weeks. Relatedly, teenage mothers had an 81% chance of having a preterm birth.Conclusion: Teenage pregnancy was generally not associated with adverse maternal or fetal outcomes except for preterm birth. The reasons for adverse pregnancy outcomes may reflect a combination of gynecological and biological immaturity, as well as adverse socioeconomic pressures.

An obstetric fistula is an abnormal opening between the vagina, rectum, and/or bladder. Obstetric fistula has a devastating impact on women's physical, social, and psychological health. Despite the numerous health consequences in developing countries, including Ethiopia, there have been few studies on the determinants of time to recovery from obstetric fistula. Therefore, this study is aimed at addressing the gap. A retrospective cohort study was employed to include 328 randomly selected records of women admitted for obstetric fistula treatment at Mekelle Hamlin Fistula Center from January 2015 to 2020. Data collected from the medical records was coded and entered into SPSS software version 20 and exported to STATA 10 and R statistical software for data cleaning and data analysis. The Kaplan-Meier and log-rank tests were computed to explore the data. The log-logistic inverse Gaussian shared frailty model was employed using a 95% CI, and variables with a p value < 0.05 were declared as determinants of recovery time. Of 328 fistula patients, 293 (89.33%) were physically cured. The Kaplan-Meier result showed that the overall mean and median survival time of time to recovery from obstetric fistula patients at Mekelle Hamlin Fistula Center is 42 and 33 days, respectively. In a log-logistic inverse Gaussian shared frailty model analysis, extensive fistula size (AHR : 1.282; 95% CI = 1.175-1.388), secondary and above education level (AHR : 0.830; 95% CI = 0.693-0.967), rural residence (AHR : 1.357; 95% CI = 1.236-1.479), and physiotherapy use (AHR : 0.801, 95% CI = 0662-0.940, 95% CI = 1.175-1.388) were statistically significant predictors of recovery from obstetrics fistula. Rural place of residence, home delivery, and large and extensive size of the fistula prolong the timing of healing from the obstetric fistula. However, having tall height, physiotherapy treatment, secondary and above-educated women, and RVF type of fistula has a short time of healing for obstetric fistula in Mekelle Hamlin Fistula Center. Therefore, we recommend that health professionals promote institutional delivery and physiotherapy, shorten the duration of catheterization, and manage urine incontinence. In addition, we recommend that the regional health bureau promotes female education and pregnancy after 18 years. The survival probability of patients with obstetric fistulas is better predicted by the log-logistic inverse Gaussian shared frailty model. Therefore, it would be good for future researchers to take this model into account.

Background Viral hepatitis is an emerging global health problem. A pregnant mother infected with the hepatitis B virus has a high rate of vertical transmission, causing adverse fetal and neonatal outcomes. Understanding the magnitude of the problem and associated factors has paramount importance to avert such adverse fetal and neonatal outcomes. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to assess the seroprevalence of hepatitis B virus and associated factors among pregnant women attending antenatal care clinics at public health facilities in Nekemte town. Methods An institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 277 pregnant women attending antenatal care at public health facilities in Nekemte town from June 1 to July 30, 2020. All public health institutions in Nekemte town (two hospitals and one health center) were recruited, and study participants were selected by using a systematic sampling method. The data were collected using pretested and structured questionnaires using a face-to-face interview, and a blood sample was collected to test for hepatitis B surface antigen. Logistic regression analysis was employed to identify factors significantly associated with hepatitis B virus infection. Variables with a p value < 0.05 were considered statistically significant predictors of the outcome variable. Result The overall seroprevalence of hepatitis B virus infection was 16 (5.8%) [95% CI: 3.2-8.7], which indicates intermediate endemicity. History of abortion (AOR =6.155; 95% CI: 1.780, 21.291), history of contact with hepatitis patient (AOR =7.178; 95% CI: 1.702, 30.279), and having multiple sexual partners (AOR =6.788; 95% CI: 1.701, 27.086) had a statistically significant association with hepatitis B surface antigen seropositivity. Conclusion Hepatitis B virus seroprevalence among pregnant women in this study shows intermediate endemicity. Therefore, health professionals should provide health information on the risk of having multiple sexual partners, risk factors of unprotected contact with hepatitis patients, and abortion for pregnant women during their antenatal care visits.

Introduction Home delivery is one of the major reasons for high maternal mortality ratio in sub-Saharan Africa. Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia together contribute over 85% of maternal deaths, of which, only half of deliveries are institutional. However, data are scarce on the availability of information with regard to the determinant factors for this high prevalence of home delivery in the study area. Objective This study is aimed at determining factors associated with home delivery, among mothers in Abobo Woreda, Gambella region, Southwest Ethiopia, 2019. Methods A case control study conducted from 12 March 2019 up to 2 April 2019 on 88 cases and 176 controls. Cases include mothers who gave birth at home and those mothers who gave birth at health facility in the last one year preceding the study included as controls. Data entry was made using Epi-Data version 3.1, and analysis was made using SPSS version 20. A binary logistic regression analysis was conducted to assess candidate variables and subsequently a multivariable regression to determine the statistical associations. Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated to determine strength of association, and p value <0.05 was used to establish significant associations. Results No formal education (AOR: 5.07; 95% CI: 2.18-11.50), poor knowledge on obstetric complications (AOR: 3.83; 95% CI: 1.98-7.40), negative attitude towards delivery service (AOR: 3.25; 95% CI: 1.70-6.19), poor household wealth index (AOR: 4.55; 95% CI: 2.01-10.31), and no antenatal care visit (AOR: 3.29; 95% CI: 1.63-6.63) were found to be significantly associated with home delivery. Conclusions The findings do support that no formal education, poor knowledge on obstetric complications, negative attitude towards delivery service, poor household wealth index, and no antenatal care visit showed a significant association with home delivery.

Background Contraceptive practices of perinatally HIV-infected adolescents (PHIAs) have implications related to pregnancy prevention, risks of HIV heterosexual transmission, reinfection, and vertical transmission. The study assessed contraceptive use among sexually active PHIAs in Uganda. Methods Mixed methods consisting of a survey and in-depth interviews were employed among 213 sexually active PHIAs who were attending antiretroviral therapy (ART) clinics. The study was guided by Andersen's Behavioral Model of Health Service Use as a theoretical framework to identify factors that influence contraceptive use. These factors include health care factors, personal characteristics, enabling factors, and needs. The outcome was contraceptive use. Multivariable logistic regression was used to establish determinants of contraceptive use. Qualitative data were analyzed by thematic analysis. Results Most PHIAs were female (67.6%); the mean (SD) and median (IQR) age was 17.5 (±1.4) and 18 (17-19) years. The mean age of sexual debut and at marriage were 15 (±1.7) and 17 (±1.1), respectively. Condoms were the most known method of family planning (indicated by 55.4%). Only 16.9% of the participants knew about dual protection (condom use for FP as well as HIV/STI prevention). Of the PHIAs, 43.6% had ever used modern contraception and 56.9% of the females had ever been pregnant. The odds of contraceptive ever-use were significantly higher among adolescents aged 17-19 years (OR 5.1, 95% CI: 2.1-13.3) compared to those aged 10-16 years, those in school (OR 1.8, 95% CI: 1.07-3.2) compared to those out of school, and those with perceived need to use FP (OR 2.0, 95% CI: 1.1-3.9) compared to their counterparts. The odds of contraceptive used were lower among females (OR 0.13, 95% CI: 0.06-0.28) compared to males. From the in-depth interviews, the attitude of health workers, availability of health workers, having a friend using family planning, and waiting time were viewed to affect contraceptive use. Conclusion Contraceptive use among sexually active perinatally HIV-infected adolescents was (43.6%). However, out of those who used family planning majority were using short-term methods. The unmet need for family planning was high (47%) with high reports of pregnancy (56.9%). The factors associated with contraceptive use included education, age, sex (predisposing factors), and perceived need of family planning (need factors). Other factors that could affect contraceptive use from qualitative analysis included attitude of health workers, availability of health workers, having a friend using family planning (predisposing factors), and waiting time (health system factors). HIV care for adolescents should be promoted using SRH approach. There is a need to provide training for all providers to cater for SRH services. We should continue to provide youth-responsive adolescent sexual and reproductive health services across all ART facilities and build a supportive environment and continue to integrate SRH services into HIV care.

Background Modern family planning methods are widely believed to influence fertility reduction worldwide. Family planning had a clear effect on the health of women, children, and families worldwide especially those in developing countries. It has been shown that there are many instances in which women might discontinue contraception methods that put women's health at risk. Objectives To assess and identify Determinants of Modern Contraceptive Methods Discontinuation among Women in Reproductive age interval in Dire Dawa City. Method A cross-sectional study design was employed. A total of 811 respondent women with one-year history of modern contraceptive method usage were considered in the study. A stratified random sampling method was used to select the study participants. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire and analyzed by descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression. Result The study indicated that 634 (78.20%) of respondent mothers continued using the method that they have used before a year. Whereas 177 (21.80%) of women discontinued using the method within a year. The factors age, number of children, who made the decision on the choice of the method used, the type of contraceptive method used, and taking counseling before using the method were found significant at 5% level of significance. Conclusion Young women, respondents who have no or a small number of children, and not the decision maker on the choice of the method were more likely to discontinue. Whereas women who did not take counseling are less likely to discontinue. When compared to women who used implant those women who used pills and injectables are more likely to discontinue. Thus, the study identified factors that contribute to the discontinuation of modern contraception methods.

Background Cultural practices, beliefs, and taboos are often implicated in determining the care received by mothers during pregnancy and child birth which is an important determinant of maternal mortality. Objective To assess prevalence of cultural malpractice during pregnancy, child birth, and postnatal period among women of childbearing age in Meshenti town, Amhara region, northwest Ethiopia, in 2016. Methods Community based cross-sectional study was conducted among women of reproductive age group interviewed during the study period from May 10 to June 17, 2016. Total sample size was 318 women of reproductive age group. Systematic sampling technique was conducted. Result Overall, 50.9% of the respondents had cultural malpractices during their pregnancy. Out of 318 women, 62 (19.5%) practiced nutrition taboo, 78 (24.5%) practiced abdominal massage, 87 (29.7%) delivered their babies at home, 96 (32.8%) avoided colostrums, 132 (45.2%) washed their baby before 24 hr after delivery, and 6 (6.9%) cut the cord by unclean blade. Conclusion and Recommendation The findings of this study show that different traditional malpractice during perinatal period is still persisting in spite of modern developments in the world. Health education and promoting formal female education are important to decrease or avoid these cultural malpractices.

Purpose. To improve success of in vitro fertilization (IVF), assisted reproductive technology (ART) experts addressed four questions. What is optimum oocytes number leading to highest live birth rate (LBR)? Are cohort size and embryo quality correlated? Does gonadotropin type affect oocyte yield? Should “freeze-all” policy be adopted in cycles with progesterone >1.5 ng/mL on day of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) administration? Methods. Electronic database search included ten studies on which panel gave opinions for improving current practice in controlled ovarian stimulation for ART. Results. Strong association existed between retrieved oocytes number (RON) and LBRs. RON impacted likelihood of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS). Embryo euploidy decreased with age, not with cohort size. Progesterone > 1.5 ng/dL did not impair cycle outcomes in patients with high cohorts and showed disparate results on day of hCG administration. Conclusions. Ovarian stimulation should be designed to retrieve 10–15 oocytes/treatment. Accurate dosage, gonadotropin type, should be selected as per prediction markers of ovarian response. Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonist based protocols are advised to avoid OHSS. Cumulative pregnancy rate was most relevant pregnancy endpoint in ART. Cycles with serum progesterone ≥1.5 ng/dL on day of hCG administration should not adopt “freeze-all” policy. Further research is needed due to lack of data availability on progesterone threshold or index.