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BACKGROUND: Evidence indicates that Nigeria's high maternal mortality rate is attributable primarily to events that occur during the intrapartum period. This study determines the effectiveness of multifaceted interventions in improving the quality of intrapartum care in Nigeria's referral hospitals. METHODS: Data collected through an exit interview with 752 women who received intrapartum care in intervention and control hospitals were analyzed. The interventions were designed to improve the quality indicators in the WHO recommendations for positive childbirth and assessed using 12 quality indicators. Univariate, bivariate, Poisson, and logistic regression analyses were used to compare twelve quality indicators at intervention and control hospitals. RESULTS: The interventions showed a 6% increase in composite score of quality of care indicators at intervention compared with control hospitals. Five signal functions of intrapartum care assessed were significantly (< 0.001) better at intervention hospitals. Quality scores for segments of intervention periods compared to baseline were higher at intervention than in control hospitals. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that multiple interventions that address various components of the quality of intrapartum care in Nigeria's referral hospitals have demonstrated effectiveness. The interventions improved five of ten quality indicators. We believe that this approach to developing interventions based on formative research is important, but a process of integrating the implementation activities with the normal maternal health delivery processes in the hospitals will enhance the effectiveness of this approach. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study was registered at the Nigeria Clinical Trials Registry. Trial Registration Number NCTR No: 91,540,209 (14/04/2016) http://www.nctr.nhrec.net/ and retrospectively with the ISRCTN. Trial Registration Number 64 ISRCTN17985403 (14/08/2020) https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN17985403 .

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BACKGROUND: Eclampsia causes maternal mortality in Nigeria. This study presents the effectiveness of multifaceted interventions that addressed institutional barriers in reducing the incidence and case fatality rates associated with eclampsia. METHODS: The design was quasi-experimental and the activities implemented at intervention hospitals included a new strategic plan, retraining health providers on eclampsia management protocols, clinical reviews of delivery care and educating pregnant women and their partners. Prospective data were collected monthly on eclampsia and related indicators from study sites over 2 y. The results were analysed by univariate, bivariate and multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS: The results show a higher eclampsia rate (5.88% vs 2.45%) and a lower use of partograph and antenatal care (ANC; 17.99% vs 23.42%) in control compared with intervention hospitals, but similar case fatality rates of <1%. Overall, adjusted analysis shows a 63% decrease in the odds of eclampsia at intervention compared with control hospitals. Factors associated with eclampsia were ANC, referral for care from other facilities and older maternal age. CONCLUSION: We conclude that multifaceted interventions that address challenges associated with managing pre-eclampsia and eclampsia in health facilities can reduce eclampsia occurrence in referral facilities in Nigeria and potential eclampsia death in resource-poor African countries.

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INTRODUCTION: Risk-based screening has been replaced by universal screening as the recommended course of care for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). As of 2016, no state in Nigeria had implemented a policy of universal screening for GDM. This research aimed to assess findings from a universal screening programme and its implication for scaling up universal and early screening for GDM. METHODS: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in Rivers State Nigeria between February 2017 and January 2020. Multistage sampling was used to recruit 9314 pregnant women from 30 primary, secondary, and tertiary health facilities in the state. An interviewer-administered structured questionnaire was used by trained healthcare workers to collect socio-demographic, obstetric and medical information. All study participants had a plasma glucose test on their first hospital visit and a diagnosis made using the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria. Data obtained was analysed using the IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23. RESULTS: Most women [5683 (61.0%)] were aged 25-34 (mean 29.60 ± 5.64) years. The prevalence of GDM in this study was 5.2% with a prevalence of GDM in the first, second and third trimesters of 4.9%, 4.2% and 6.7%, respectively. The prevalence of GDM among persons with a family history of diabetes was 13.2% (97 persons) while 4.6% (391 persons) without family history were diagnosed with GDM. Gestational age, family history of diabetes and age group were found to be significant predictors of GDM among the study participants after adjusting for confounding variables. CONCLUSION: The practice of universal screening was useful in identifying GDM in 1 out of 20 pregnant women in the study sample. Screening at all trimesters was useful in identifying GDM. There is an urgent need to scale up early and universal screening for GDM across sub-Saharan Africa.

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BACKGROUND: Safe childbirth remains a daunting challenge, particularly in low-middle income countries, where most pregnancy-related deaths occur. Cameroon's maternal mortality rate, estimated at 529 per 100,000 live births in 2017, is significantly high. The WHO Safe Childbirth Checklist (SCC) was designed to improve the quality of care provided to pregnant women during childbirth. The SCC was implemented at the Yaoundé Gynaeco-Obstetric and Paediatric Hospital to improve the quality of care during childbirth. METHODS: This study was a retrospective study to determine the adoption rate of the SCC and its association with maternal (eclampsia, perineal tears, and postpartum haemorrhage) and neonatal (stillbirth, neonatal asphyxia and neonatal death) complications. Data were collected 6 months after the introduction of the SCC. Multivariate binary logistic regression was used to analyse the association between the use of the SCC and maternofoetal complications. RESULTS: Out of 1611 deliveries conducted, 1001 records were found, giving a retrieval rate of 62%. Twenty-five records were excluded. During the study period, the checklists were used in 828 of 976 clinical notes, with an adoption rate of 84.8% and a utilization rate of 93.9% at 6 months. Severe preeclampsia/eclampsia was associated with the non-use of the SCC (2.1 vs 5.4%, p = 0.041). Stillbirth, neonatal asphyxia, and neonatal death rates were not significantly different between the checklist and non-checklist groups. However, for all neonatal outcomes, the proportion of complications was lower when the checklist was used. CONCLUSION: The use of the SCC was associated with significantly reduced pregnancy complications, especially for reducing the rates of severe pre-eclampsia/eclampsia. The use of the SCC increased to 93.9% of all deliveries within 6 months. We advocate for the use of the WHO Safe Childbirth Checklist in maternity units.

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Background: Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) is a common metabolic complication in pregnancy with a broad range of adverse foetal and maternal outcomes if not properly managed. Due to the difficult nature of the Oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), the utilization of the Glycatedhaemoglobin (HbA1c) test as a simpler and acceptable alternative has been suggested. The aims were to determine the GDM prevalence, the diagnostic accuracy, the optimal cut-off point and the validity of the HbA1c in diagnosing GDM using OGTT as the gold standard in the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH). Methodology: This was a prospective cross-sectional study involving a cohort of 250 antenatal attendees at 24-28 weeks of pregnancy in the UPTH from 1st February 2018 - 30th April 2018. Socio-demographic data and results of the OGTT and HbA1c tests were analysed using SPSS 21.0 for windows® statistical software. The area under the Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) curve was used to determine the diagnostic accuracy of HbA1c. The Youden index was used to get the optimal cut-off point for HbA1c. The validity of the HbA1c was determined using sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value. The P-value at p<0.05 was set as the level of significance. Results: Out of the 250 women, 36 (14.4%) had GDM hence in this study, the GDM prevalence was 14.4%. Area under the curve (AUC) = 0.649; 95% confidence interval: 0.550 - 0.748; p-value = 0.004. The optimal cut-off point for HbA1c was 5.18% with a sensitivity of 63.9%, a specificity of 59.3%, a positive predictive value of 20.9% and a negative predictive value of 90.7%. Conclusion: The HbA1c at the Optimal cut-off point of 5.18% in our environment cannot replace the OGTT in the diagnosis of GDM because of its low sensitivity and specificity but will be useful in the screening for GDM because of its high negative predictive value at 24-28 weeks gestation. This will reduce the count of gravidae who undergo the cumbersome OGTT.

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Background: Data in Nigeria suggests a high level of dissatisfaction among women attending maternity care in health facilities due to long wait times, disrespectful care, and poor attention by healthcare personnel. Objective: To examine the effectiveness of a multifaceted intervention in improving self-reported indicators of maternal healthcare satisfaction by women who use referral facilities in two regions of Nigeria. Method: The design was quasi-experimental and consisted of two intervention facilities and two control facilities. The interventions included strategic planning, staff re-training, a computerized appointment system, health education/feedback, maternal death reviews and surveillance, and advocacy. A random sample of 2262 women was selected (1205 in the intervention sites and 1057 in the two control sites) to respond to a 24-item questionnaire on service satisfaction as they exited the health facilities. Adjusted Poisson and binary regression analyses were used to assess and compare proportions of reported satisfaction by women between the intervention and control sites. Results: Women in the intervention sites were 54% more likely than those in control sites to report overall satisfaction with services. They were significantly less likely to report inadequate security arrangements in accessing the health facilities (p < .1); and three times more likely to agree that health workers were extremely thorough and careful in attending to them (p < .1). Conclusion: The interventions had positive effects on improving women's satisfaction with care. The findings from this study have implications for the design and implementation of interventions that address women's concerns relating to the provision of care and consequently improve service utilization.

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BACKGROUND: The study was designed as quasi-experimental research to investigate the effectiveness of multifaceted interventions for improving the quality of antenatal care in referral hospitals in Nigeria. Two referral hospitals (the Central Hospital in Benin City, South-South Nigeria, and the General Hospital in Minna) served as intervention sites, while two hospitals in comparable locations, (the Central Hospital Warri and the Suleja Hospital Abuja) were the control hospitals. METHODS: Intervention activities consisted of the introduction of a strategic plan with the shared vision of reducing maternal mortality by 50% in 1 year in the hospitals; staff training and re-training; the establishment of an automated appointment system; composite health education involving couples and providers; advocacy with policymakers; and the implementation of maternal death reviews and surveillance. These activities were implemented in the intervention hospitals over 21 months (October 2017 to June 2019). Exit interviews of pregnant women at intervention and control sites by trained interviewers were used to assess the quality of antenatal care after their visit, A total of 777 women were interviewed (427 in the intervention sites and 350 in the control sites). Data were analyzed with univariate and multivariate Poisson and logistic regression to determine the extent to which health providers in the clinics completed the 18 signal functions identified in the WHO assessment tool. RESULTS: The regression analyses showed the interventions were effective in improving six quality indicators (QIs) for counseling and information sharing. The difference between intervention and control sites on these QIs was significant at < 0.05. On the contrary, the interventions were less effective for maternal and fetal measurements; and disease testing and management QIs. CONCLUSION: The positive effects of the interventions are likely due to the effectiveness of the training and health education components. The lack of intervention impact observed for maternal and fetal measurements may be due to the high workload of care staff and inadequate clinic supplies, which we did not address. We conclude that interventions that address the quality of antenatal care in low-resource settings should focus on improving all elements of care, including adequate staffing and mobilization of material resources. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study was registered in the ISRCTN on August 14th, 2020. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: SRCTN17985403 . Retrospective registration. The reason for the retrospective registration is the current non-recognition of the Nigeria Clinical Trials Registry (NCTR); which is currently not an ICMJE or WHO ICTRP approved registry. (This study was registered in the Nigeria Clinical Trials Registry on April 14th, 2016. Trial Registration Number NCTR No: 91540209 ).

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AIM: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of episiotomy and postepisiotomy complications and to assess the relationship between the risk factors and postepisiotomy complications in the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital. METHODOLOGY: This was a descriptive longitudinal study, in which 403 consecutive women who had episiotomy in the labor ward were recruited for the study. They were followed up and reviewed at the postnatal clinic on the 1st and 6th weeks postdelivery. Data regarding age, marital status, occupation, educational status, address, parity, booking status, postepisiotomy complications, and the associated risk factors were entered adequately into a prestructured pro forma, and statistical analysis was done using statistical software (SPSS for Windows® version 19.0). t-test was used to explore the association of risk factors to postepisiotomy complications. RESULTS: The episiotomy rate was 22.1%. The prevalence of postepisiotomy complications was 52.1%. The mean age of the women was 23.8 (standard deviation ± 3.2) years. Seventy-two (34.3%) patients had perineal pain, which lasted for 72 h or more; 61 (29.1%) had difficulty in walking, while 37 (17.6%) had perineal discomfort. Four (1.9%) had wound infection and only one (0.4%) had wound dehiscence. The development of postepisiotomy complications was not statistically significantly associated with risk factors such as gestational age (T = 1.4, P = 0.1), packed cell volume on admission (T = 1.0, P = 0.2), duration of first stage of labor (T = 0.5, P = 0.1), duration of second stage of labor (T = 0.7, P = 0.3), duration of rupture of fetal membranes (T = 0.8, P = 0.4), delivery repair interval (T = 0.6, P = 0.2), estimated blood loss (T = 0.9, P = 0.2), duration of Sitz bath (T = 1.0, P = 0.2), duration of analgesic (T = 1.2, P = 0.1), duration of antibiotics (T = 1.3, P = 0.1), or the operator who performed or repaired the episiotomy (P = 0.2). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of episiotomy and postepisiotomy complications in this study was high. Necessary attention should be given to ensure adequate pain relief for all parturients who had episiotomy, and the policy of restrictive use of episiotomy should be fully implemented in the department in line with the best practices and evidence-based recommendations. This will further reduce the incidence of episiotomy rate as well complications that may arise from it and ensure a positive pregnancy experience for pregnant women.

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OBJECTIVE: To assess the existing knowledge and skills relating to Emergency Obstetrics Care (EMOC) among health providers in eight referral maternity hospitals in Nigeria. STUDY DESIGN: A cross-sectional study of skilled health providers (doctors, nurses and midwives) working in the hospitals during the period. SETTING: Six general hospitals (4 in the south and 2 in the north), and two teaching hospitals (both in the Northern part) of the country. POPULATION: All skilled providers offering EMOC services in the hospitals during the study. METHODS: A pre-tested self-administered questionnaire was used to obtain information relating to socio-demographic characteristics, the respondents' knowledge and skills in offering specific EMOC services (as compared to standard World Health Organization recommendations), and their confidence in transferring the skills to mid-level providers. Data were analyzed with univariate, bivariate, binary and multinomial logistic regression analyses. Main outcome measures: knowledge and skills in EMOC services by hospital and overall. RESULTS: A total of 341 health providers (148 doctors and 193 nurses/midwives) participated in the study. Averagely, the providers scored less than 46% in a composite EMOC knowledge score, with doctors scoring considerable higher than the nurses/midwives. Similarly, doctors scored higher than nurses/midwives in the self-reporting of confidence in carrying out specific EMOC functions. Health providers that scored higher in knowledge were significantly more likely to report confidence in performing specific EMOC functions as compared to those with lower scores. The self-reporting of confidence in transferring clinical skills was also higher in those with higher EMOC knowledge scores. CONCLUSION: The knowledge and reported skills on EMOC by health providers in referral facilities in Nigeria was lower than average. We conclude that the in-service training and re-training of health providers should be included in national policy and programs that address maternal mortality prevention in referral facilities in the country. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Nigeria Clinical Trials Registry 91540209.

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BACKGROUND: In 2015, Nigeria's estimated 317,700 stillbirths accounted for 12.2% of the 2.6 million estimated global stillbirths. This suggests that Nigeria still makes substantial contribution to the global burden of stillbirths. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence and identify the causes and factors associated with stillbirth in eight referral hospitals in Nigeria. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study of all deliveries over a period of 6 months in six general hospitals (4 in the south and 2 in the north), and two teaching hospitals (both in the north) in Nigeria. The study population was women delivering in the hospitals during the study period. A pre-tested study protocol was used to obtain clinical data on pregnancies, live births and stillbirths in the hospitals over a 6 months period. Data were analyzed centrally using univariate, bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. The main outcome measure was stillbirth rate in the hospitals (individually and overall). RESULTS: There were 4416 single births and 175 stillbirths, and a mean stillbirth rate of 39.6 per 1000 births (range: 12.7 to 67.3/1000 births) in the hospitals. Antepartum (macerated) constituted 22.3% of the stillbirths; 47.4% were intrapartum (fresh stillbirths); while 30.3% was unclassified. Acute hypoxia accounted for 32.6% of the stillbirths. Other causes were maternal hypertensive disease (6.9%), and intrapartum unexplained (5.7%) among others. After adjusting for confounding variables, significant predictors of stillbirth were referral status, parity, past experience of stillbirth, birth weight, gestational age at delivery and mode of delivery. CONCLUSION: We conclude that the rate of stillbirth is high in Nigeria's referral hospitals largely because of patients' related factors and the high rates of pregnancy complications. Efforts to address these factors through improved patients' education and emergency obstetric care would reduce the rate of stillbirth in the country. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Trial Registration Number NCTR91540209. Nigeria Clinical Trials Registry. http://www.nctr.nhrec.net/ Registered April 14th 2016.

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OBJECTIVES: The objective of the study was to identify where delays occur when women present for antenatal care in four Nigerian referral hospitals, and to make recommendations on ways to reduce delays in the course of provision of antenatal care in the hospitals. DESIGN: Prospective observational study. SETTING: Four Nigerian (1 tertiary and 3 secondary) Hospitals. PARTICIPANTS: Women who presented for antenatal care. INTERVENTIONS: A process mapping. The National Health Service (NHS) Institute Quality and Service Improvement Tool was used for the assessment. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The time women spent in waiting and receiving antenatal care in various departments of the hospitals. RESULTS: Waiting and total times spent varied significantly within and between the hospitals surveyed. Mean waiting and total times spent were longest in the outpatients' departments and shortest in the Pharmacy Departments. Total time spent was an average of 237.6 minutes. χ2= 21.074; p= 0.0001. CONCLUSION: There was substantial delay in time spent to receive care by women seeking routine antenatal health services in the four secondary and tertiary care hospitals. We recommend managers in health facilities include the reduction of waiting times in the strategic plans for improving the quality of antenatal care in the hospitals. This should include the use of innovative payment systems that excludes payment at time of service delivery, adoption of a fast-track system such as pre-packing of frequently used commodities and the use of new tech informational materials for the provision of health education. FUNDING: The Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research, World Health Organization, Geneva; Protocol ID A65869.

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INTRODUCTION: While reports from individual hospitals have helped to provide insights into the causes of maternal mortality in low-income countries, they are often limited for policymaking at national and subnational levels. This multisite study was designed to determine maternal mortality ratios (MMRs) and identify the risk factors for maternal deaths in referral health facilities in Nigeria. METHODS: A pretested study protocol was used over a 6-month period (January 1-June 30, 2014) to obtain clinical data on pregnancies, births, and maternal deaths in eight referral hospitals across eight states and four geopolitical zones of Nigeria. Data were analyzed centrally using univariate, bivariate, and multivariate statistics. RESULTS: The results show an MMR of 2,085 per 100,000 live births in the hospitals (range: 877-4,210 per 100,000 births). Several covariates were identified as increasing the odds for maternal mortality; however, after adjustment for confounding, five factors remained significant in the logistic regression model. These include delivery in a secondary health facility as opposed to delivery in a tertiary hospital, non-booking for antenatal and delivery care, referral as obstetric emergency from nonhospital sources of care, previous experience by women of early pregnancy complications, and grandmultiparity. CONCLUSION: MMR remains high in referral health facilities in Nigeria due to institutional and patient-related factors. Efforts to reduce MMR in these health facilities should include the improvement of emergency obstetric care, public health education so that women can seek appropriate and immediate evidence-based pregnancy care, the socioeconomic empowerment of women, and the strengthening of the health care system.

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BACKGROUND: The paucity of human resources for health buoyed by excessive workloads has been identified as being responsible for poor quality obstetric care, which leads to high maternal mortality in Nigeria. While there is anecdotal and qualitative research to support this observation, limited quantitative studies have been conducted to test the association between the number and density of human resources and risk of maternal mortality. This study aims to investigate the association between client-provider ratios for antenatal and delivery care and the risk of maternal mortality in 8 referral hospitals in Nigeria. METHODS: Client-provider ratios were calculated for antenatal and delivery care attendees during a 3-year period (2011-2013). The maternal mortality ratio (MMR) was calculated per 100,000 live births for the hospitals, while unadjusted Poisson regression analysis was used to examine the association between the number of maternal deaths and density of healthcare providers. RESULTS: A total of 334,425 antenatal care attendees and 26,479 births were recorded during this period. The client-provider ratio in the maternity department for antenatal care attendees was 1343:1 for doctors and 222:1 for midwives. The ratio of births to one doctor in the maternity department was 106:1 and 18:1 for midwives. On average, there were 441 births per specialist obstetrician. The results of the regression analysis showed a significant negative association between the number of maternal deaths and client-provider ratios in all categories. CONCLUSION: We conclude that the maternal mortality ratios in Nigeria's referral hospitals are worsened by high client-provider ratios, with few providers attending a large number of pregnant women. Efforts to improve the density and quality of maternal healthcare providers, especially at the first referral level, would be a critical intervention for reducing the currently high rate of maternal mortality in Nigeria. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Trial Registration Number: NCTR91540209 . Nigeria Clinical Trials Registry. Registered 14 April 2016.

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Background Youth friendly services, an evidence based approach to overcome the barriers experienced by youths in accessing care, is poorly implemented. The Medical Women's Association of Nigeria (MWAN) Rivers State chapter, was supported by Ford Foundation to mainstream youth-friendly health services (YFHS) into existing primary health care facilities in two hard-to-reach communities. This paper presents the interventions, findings, challenges and recommendations. Methods This study project was implemented in stages: design, baseline survey, interventions and evaluation, between 2014 and 2016. Interventions included facility modifications, health worker capacity building, school and community outreaches, peer group activities, and interpersonal communication. Pre-and-post-intervention surveys were carried out among in- and out-of-school youths to determine the effects of the interventions. Results The most commonly stated barriers to uptake of youth friendly health services included: unavailability of services (154; 33.1%), unavailability of health care workers (167; 38.9%), unaffordability of services (108; 45.8%) and difficulty in communicating with health workers (85; 36.0%). Post-intervention, utilization improved across all services while the perception of barriers to utilization of services reduced (p < 0.05). The interventions implemented increased the odds of youths utilizing YFHS 1.81 times (95% CI = 1.39-2.37). Conclusion Facility modifications, capacity building of health workers, school and community outreaches, peer group activities, and interpersonal communication improved utilization across all services while the perception of barriers to utilization of services reduced. Implementation of YFHS is impacted by external factors often beyond the control of project implementers. Innovative solutions outside of routine health care delivery systems are critical for success. Further evaluation to explore the effect of these interventions is needed. Strengthening of health systems remains a vital strategy for scale-up of YFHS.

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BACKGROUND: Late arrival in hospital by women experiencing pregnancy complications is an important background factor leading to maternal mortality in Nigeria. The use of effective and timely emergency obstetric care determines whether women survive or die, or become near-miss cases. Healthcare managers have the responsibility to deploy resources for implementing emergency obstetric care. OBJECTIVES: To determine the nature of institutional policies and frameworks for managing obstetric complications and reducing maternal deaths in Nigeria. METHODS: Thirty-six hospital managers, heads of obstetrics department and senior midwives were interviewed about hospital infrastructure, resources, policies and processes relating to emergency obstetric care, whilst allowing informants to discuss their thoughts and feelings. The interviews were audiotaped, transcribed and analyzed using Atlas ti 6.2software. RESULTS: Hospital managers are aware of the seriousness of maternal mortality and the steps to improve maternal healthcare. Many reported the lack of policies and specific action-plans for maternal mortality prevention, and many did not purposely disburse budgets or resources to address the problem. Although some reported that maternal/perinatal audit take place in their hospitals, there was no substantive evidence and no records of maternal/perinatal audits were made available. Respondents decried the lack of appropriate data collection system in the hospitals for accurate monitoring of maternal mortality and identification of appropriate remediating actions. CONCLUSION: Healthcare managers are handicapped to properly manage the healthcare system for maternal mortality prevention. Relevant training of healthcare managers would be crucial to enable the development of strategic implementation plans for the prevention of maternal mortality.

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BACKGROUND: Available evidence suggests that the low use of antenatal, delivery, and post-natal services by Nigerian women may be due to their perceptions of low quality of care in health facilities. This study investigated the perceptions of women regarding their satisfaction with the maternity services offered in secondary and tertiary hospitals in Nigeria. METHODS: Five focus group discussions (FGDs) were held with women in eight secondary and tertiary hospitals in four of the six geo-political zones of the country. In all, 40 FGDs were held with women attending antenatal and post-natal clinics in the hospitals. The questions assessed women's level of satisfaction with the care they received in the hospitals, their views on what needed to be done to improve patients' satisfaction, and the overall quality of maternity services in the hospitals. The discussions were audio-taped, transcribed, and analyzed by themes using Atlas ti computer software. RESULTS: Few of the participants expressed satisfaction with the quality of care they received during antenatal, intrapartum, and postnatal care. Many had areas of dissatisfaction, or were not satisfied at all with the quality of care. Reasons for dissatisfaction included poor staff attitude, long waiting time, poor attention to women in labour, high cost of services, and sub-standard facilities. These sources of dissatisfaction were given as the reasons why women often preferred traditional rather than modern facility based maternity care. The recommendations they made for improving maternity care were also consistent with their perceptions of the gaps and inadequacies. These included the improvement of hospital facilities, re-organization of services to eliminate delays, the training and re-training of health workers, and feedback/counseling and education of women. CONCLUSION: A women-friendly approach to delivery of maternal health care based on adequate response to women's concerns and experiences of health care will be critical to curbing women's dissatisfaction with modern facility based health care, improving access to maternal health, and reducing maternal morbidity and mortality in Nigeria. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Trial Registration Number NCTR No: 91540209. Nigeria Clinical Trials Registry. http://www.nctr.nhrec.net/ . Registered April 14th 2016.

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At the conclusion of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide an opportunity to ensure healthy lives, promote the social well-being of women and end preventable maternal death. However, inequities in health and avoidable health inequalities occasioned by adverse social, cultural and economic influences and policies are major determinants as to whether a woman can access evidence-based clinical and preventative interventions for reducing maternal mortality. This review discusses sociocultural influences that contribute to the high rate of maternal mortality in Nigeria, a country categorised as having made -no progress‖ towards achieving MDG 5. We highlight the need for key interventions to mitigate the impact of negative sociocultural practices and social inequality that decrease women's access to evidence-based reproductive health services that lead to high rate of maternal mortality. Strategies to overcome identified negative sociocultural influences and ultimately galvanize efforts towards achieving one of the tenets of SDG-3 are recommended.

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Aplastic anaemia occurring in pregnancy is a rare event with life threatening challenges for both mother and child. We present a successful fetomaternal outcome despite the challenges in the management of this rare condition in a tertiary but resource poor centre. This is case of a 37 year old Nigerian woman G6P0+5managed with repeated blood transfusions from 28 weeks of gestation for bone marrow biopsy confirmed aplastic anaemia following presentation with weakness and gingival bleeds. She had a cesarean section at 37 weeks for pre-eclampsia and oligohydraminous with good feto-maternal outcome. She was managed entirely with fresh whole blood and received 21 units. Aplastic Anaemia in Pregnancy is a rare event with poor feto maternal prognosis. Successful management is possible with good multi-disciplinary approach and availability of supportive comprehensive obstetric care.

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