ABSTRACT Introduction: Life styles during a pregnancy have long term effects on maternal and fetal outcomes. This study intended to assess life style behaviors and birth outcomes among post-delivery women with hypertensive disorders during pregnancy in Zanzibar. Methods: Analytical cross-sectional study design was employed; purposeful and convenience sampling was used to select 301post-delivery women with hypertensive disorders in pregnancy. Structured questionnaire was used to collect data o...
ABSTRACT Background: Over 50% of postpartum women have the risk of developing postpartum anaemia in the world. Postpartum anaemia contributes to maternal morbidity and mortality. In Tanzania, maternal anaemia contributes to 8.8% of all maternal deaths. The prevalence of postpartum anaemia is unknown in the country as little attention is given on it. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and risk factors of postpartum anaemia among postnatal women in Dodoma City, Tanzania. Method: A cross-...
ABSTRACT Background: Birth asphyxia is reported to be higher in developing countries and sub Saharan Africa where neonates’ mortality rate is higher as 40-50/1000 live births. Methods: A matched case-control study of 517 random selected neonates was conducted in five districts in Kagera region from April to end of June 2018, controls were matched to the cases based on gestation age and birth weight of newborn with ratio 1:3 making a sample of 129 cases and 388 control. Partograph completene...
Abstract Background: Cancer is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Seventy percent of deaths of cancer occur in low or middle-income countries, where the resources to provide cancer treatment and care are minimal. Tanzania currently has very inadequate facilities for cancer treatment as there are only five sites, some with limited services; two are in Dar es Salaam and one each in Mwanza, Kilimanjaro and Mbeya that offer cancer treatment. Despite cancer being a pre...
ABSTRACT Background: Despite a national target of 80% cervical cancer screening for all women from 30 to 50 years old by 2020, Mara Region managed to screen only 4% of all eligible women. In spite of several efforts to scale up cervical cancer screening the uptake is still low. Basing on these reasons, client based reasons for low uptakes on cervical cancer screening are to be addressed. . Methods: This study employed across-sectional design where by 296 women of reproductive age 18-49 years ...
ABSTRACT Background Implementing the recommended management protocols for Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy is a key for delivery quality maternal care. Appropriate care to pregnant women is needed to reduce the risk of complications related to this condition. Early detection, careful monitoring and appropriate treatments of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy is required for the better maternal outcome. Objectives The aim of this study was to assess the quality of antenatal care for hypert...
ABSTRACT Introduction: Postnatal period is the most crucial period for the survival of mothers and neonates. This study, used the Health Belief Model in explaining the association between postnatal services utilization and the associated prevalence of neonatal illnesses in Zanzibar. Methods: Community based analytical cross-sectional study design was employed. A total of 395 of post-delivery women and their neonates were randomly selected. The study used the Health Belief components to de...
ABSTRACTS Background: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is rapidly increasing worldwide. Globally, 17.8 million pregnancies are complicated by GDM. Recently, Tanzania has experienced a dramatic increase in the prevalence of GDM ranging from 0% in 1993 to 19.5% in 2017 in different parts. GDM screening is not part of the routine antenatal services in Tanzania. This contributes to scarcity of data addressing the magnitude and predictors of GDM in Tanzania. Objectives: To determine the preva...
ABSTRACT Background: Tanzania is experiencing post-caesarean surgical site infections, which increases maternal morbidity and mortality. Poor wound care is reported to contribute to these infections and yet there is scanty research to inform about the community knowledge on wound care practice among post cesarean section women. This study attempts to address this gap by assessing the knowledge and practice of wound care and their influence on the presence of surgical site infections among pos...
ABSTRACT Background: The word “placenta” is a Latin word and the Greek equivalent word is “Plakons” meaning “flat cake on a plate”. The placenta is a fascinating organ of foetal origin; It plays a pivotal mediatory role during pregnancy by being intimately connected to the mother and foetus. Objectives: To explore the effects of the morphology of the placenta and associated maternal factors on foetal birth outcome in Dodoma region, Tanzania. Design: A cross-sectional study. Method...
ABSTRACT Background: It is estimated that, 25% of neonatal deaths is due to birth asphyxia, as may lead to permanent injury of the brain. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the major three cause of neonatal death are infection 39%, birth asphyxia 24% and preterm birth 25%. The aim of this study was to determine the predictors of birth asphyxia among neonate delivered in hospitals, in Zanzibar. Method: A matched case control study was used, 107 neonates were cases and 321 controls. Purposive sampling was ...
ABSTRACT Background: Unacceptable high maternal mortality rates remain a major challenge in many low income countries. Early detection and management of antenatal risk factors are critical for improved maternal and infant outcomes. The aim of this study was to test the effectiveness of the interactive messaging alert system in improving knowledge of obstetric danger signs, Antenatal care service utilization, individual birth preparedness and complication readiness (IBPACR) among pregnant wom...
ABSTRACT Background: Tanzania is among the countries with a high maternal mortality rate worldwide. This burden is said to be contributed by the delay in accessing health care services largely due to failure in recognizing the obstetric danger signs. Objective: To assess the knowledge as a predictor of timely response to pregnancy danger signs and the associated obstetric outcome among high risk post-delivery women in Dodoma region. Methods: A cross sectional study of 289 high risk post-del...
ABSTRACT Background: There is no other better way proven to safeguard an infant's health in the first six months of life than exclusive breastfeeding. Mother's breast milk is valuable in all aspects of an infant's physical and mental growth as well as immune development. This study assessed factors influencing exclusive breastfeeding among lactating mothers infected with HIV and its associated health outcomes of infants. Method: A hospital-based analytical cross-sectional study was conducte...
ABSTRACT Background: Although modern obstetrics have made child birth remarkably safe from life threatening event in the western world, there are still some challenges in the middle income countries including Tanzania. This study intended to determine the association between Female Genital Mutilation and the perineal injury among Laboring women in Dodoma. Methods: A matched case-control study of 364 random selected laboring women was conducted in three districts and one Regional hospital. C...