scholarly journals Gaps in the implementation and uptake of maternal nutrition interventions in antenatal care services in Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia and India

Author(s):  
Tina Sanghvi ◽  
Phuong H. Nguyen ◽  
Manisha Tharaney ◽  
Sebanti Ghosh ◽  
Jessica Escobar‐Alegria ◽  
...  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. 1055-1055
Author(s):  
Césaire Ouédraogo ◽  
Sunny Kim ◽  
Rock Zagre ◽  
Rasmané Ganaba ◽  
Maurice Zafimanjaka ◽  
...  

Abstract Objectives High coverage of any antenatal care (ANC) and near-universal coverage of iron-folic acid (IFA) supplementation is reported by nationally representative surveys in Burkina Faso. We examined the coverage of maternal nutrition interventions during ANC to assess gaps and missed opportunities in achieving global and national recommendations. Methods We used household survey data among 1920 mothers with children <6 months of age in 2 regions in Burkina Faso, collected in November-December 2019. Descriptive statistics were used to examine exposure to nutrition interventions during antenatal care throughout pregnancy and equity analyses were conducted to assess differences in exposure by maternal age (adolescents 15–19 y of age and older mothers) and education (none vs. any schooling). Results All mothers reported having attended at least one ANC visit at a health facility (mostly government health centers) during last pregnancy, but only 66.6% reported attending at least 4 visits. All consumed IFA tablets, but reported consuming 109 tablets on average during pregnancy, which was short of the recommended 180 tablets over 6 months. Only 42.7% reported receiving any nutrition counseling during ANC, with the most common messages reported on consuming one IFA tablet daily (93.4%) and eating a variety of foods (68.8%). While nearly all mothers were weighed during ANC, very few reported receiving information about weight gain. Among mothers, 14% were adolescents below 20 y, and 66.1% never attended school. For all indicators related to exposure to ANC or maternal nutrition intervention, we observed no differences by maternal age, education or other subgroups such as religion, parity or household composition. Conclusions The government health system in Burkina Faso with its widespread and uniform reach provides an opportunity for improving the low coverage of maternal nutrition interventions during ANC. Doing so will require efforts both to improve the coverage of 4 or more ANC visits and the effective integration of nutrition interventions into ANC. Funding Sources Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, through Alive & Thrive, managed by FHI 360; and CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH), led by the International Food Policy Research Institute.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. 1314-1314
Author(s):  
Shivani Kachwaha ◽  
Phuong Nguyen ◽  
Lan Mai Tran ◽  
Rasmi Avula ◽  
Melissa Young ◽  
...  

Abstract Objectives Frontline workers (FLWs) deliver essential nutrition services to reduce maternal undernutrition in India, but coverage and quality remain sub-optimal. Alive & Thrive aimed to strengthen delivery of interpersonal counselling, community mobilization and micronutrient supplements through the government antenatal care (ANC) platform in UP. We studied pathways through which the nutrition-intensified ANC (I-ANC) was intended to impact FLWs capacity, knowledge, and service delivery, compared to standard ANC (S-ANC). Methods We used a cluster-randomized design with cross-sectional surveys at baseline (2017) and endline (2019), ∼500 FLWs per survey. Differences between I-ANC and S-ANC were compared along six impact pathway components (training, availability of materials, supportive supervision, knowledge, service delivery, and counselling content) using mixed-effects regression adjusted for clustering. Results Training exposure was higher in I-ANC than S-ANC (9 percentage points, pp). Nutrition training topics were low-moderate (30–60%) in both arms. Job aids were more available in I-ANC (70–80%) than S-ANC (30–40%). Supply of iron-folate and calcium supplements were low in both arms, with 10–50% having stock-outs. FLWs in I-ANC were more likely to receive supervision visits (7 pp), but gaps remained in both arms. Compared to S-ANC, FLWs in I-ANC had higher knowledge on diet diversity (6 pp), adequate intake (10 pp), iron-folate (10 pp) and calcium supplements (30 pp), pregnancy weight gain (20–30 pp), and early breastfeeding (5 pp), but similarly low knowledge of exclusive breastfeeding. ANC check-ups by FLWs were 20 pp higher in I-ANC. FLWs in I-ANC did more counselling on adequate diet, supplements, and weight gain (10–20 pp). Counselling on diet diversity and breastfeeding were low in both arms. Conclusions Health systems strengthening efforts helped improve the delivery of maternal nutrition interventions in antenatal care in this context, but gaps remain. Several health system elements along the program pathway – supply chain management, training, supervisory practices – require strengthening to further improve FLW knowledge and nutrition service delivery. Funding Sources Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, through Alive & Thrive, managed by FHI 360.


2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 536-545 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jasmin Isler ◽  
N Hélène Sawadogo ◽  
Guy Harling ◽  
Till Bärnighausen ◽  
Maya Adam ◽  
...  

Abstract A growing body of literature urges policymakers, practitioners and scientists to consider gender in the design and evaluation of health interventions. We report findings from formative research to develop and refine an mHealth maternal nutrition intervention in Nouna, Burkina Faso, one of the world’s most resource-poor settings. Gender was not an initial research focus, but emerged as highly salient during data collection, and thus guided lines of inquiry as the study progressed. We collected data in two stages, first using focus group discussions (FGD; n = 8) and later using FGDs (n = 2), interviews (n = 30) and observations of intervention delivery (n = 30). Respondents included pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and Close-to-Community (CTC) providers, who execute preventative and curative tasks at the community level. We applied Morgan et al.’s gender framework to examine intervention content (what a gender-sensitive nutrition programme should entail) and delivery (how a gender-sensitive programme should be administered). Mothers emphasized that although they are often the focus of nutrition interventions, they are not empowered to make nutrition-based decisions that incur costs. They do, however, wield some control over nutrition-related tasks such as farming and cooking. Mothers described how difficult it is to consider only one’s own children during meal preparation (which is communal), and all respondents described how nutrition-related requests can spark marital strife. Many respondents agreed that involving men in nutrition interventions is vital, despite men’s perceived disinterest. CTC providers and others described how social norms and gender roles underpin perceptions of CTC providers and dictate with whom they can speak within homes. Mothers often prefer female CTC providers, but these health workers require spousal permission to work and need to balance professional and domestic demands. We recommend involving male partners in maternal nutrition interventions and engaging and supporting a broader cadre of female CTC providers in Burkina Faso.


2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alemu Degu Ayele ◽  
Habtamu Gebrehana Belay ◽  
Bekalu Getnet Kassa ◽  
Mulugeta Dile Worke

Abstract Background Preconception care is the provision of biomedical, behavioural, and social health interventions provided to women and couples before conception. However, in Ethiopia, little is known and practised to support preconception care. Therefore, this study aimed to assess women’s knowledge and utilisation of preconception care and its associated factors in Ethiopia using systematic review and meta-analysis. Method In the current meta-analysis, variables were searched from different electronic database systems, which included PubMed, Google Scholar, EMBASE, HINAR, Scopus, Web of Sciences, and Grey literature. Data were extracted using a standardised data collection measurement tool. The data were analysed by using STATA 14 statistical software. I2 tests assessed heterogeneity between the studies. A random-effect model was used to forecast the pooled knowledge and utilisation of preconception care. Results Thirteen full-text studies were included. The pooled prevalence of knowledge and utilisation of preconception care among women in Ethiopia was 30.95% and 16.27% respectivelly. Secondary education (OR = 2.78, 95% CI,2.01–3.85), college and above (OR = 5.05, 95% CI,2.70–9.44), and antenatal care (OR = 3.89, 95% CI, 1.69–8.98) were significantly associated with knowledge level whereas; age (OR = 2.43, 95% CI, 1.30–4.53) and knowledge on preconception care (OR = 3.95, 95% CI,2.35–6.62) were positively associated with utilisation of preconception. Conclusions Women’s level of knowledge and utilisation of preconception care was significantly low. Educational status and antenatal care follow-up were factors shown to affect knowledge of preconception care. Age and having a sound knowledge of preconception care indicated a significant association towards utilisation of preconception care. Thus, integrating preconception care strategies and policies that can address all the components of preconception care services with other maternal and child health services will be essential when designing effective implementation strategies to improve preconception care uptake. Besides this, advocating for better education for women, awareness creation, and increasing antenatal care services are essential. Prospero registration: CRD42020218062


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel Oduse ◽  
Temesgen Zewotir ◽  
Delia North

Abstract Background Sub-Saharan Africa, as opposed to other regions, has the highest under-five mortality rates yet makes the least improvement in reducing under-five mortality. Despite the decline, Ethiopia is among the top ten countries contributing the most to global under-five mortalities. This article examines the impact of the number of antenatal care and the timing of first antenatal care on child health outcomes. We specifically investigated if the utilization of antenatal care services positively affects the reduction of under-five mortality. Methods We employ a difference-in-differences design with propensity score matching to identify direct causal effects of antenatal care on under-five mortality based on the Ethiopian Demographic Health Survey data of 2011 and 2016. Our sample includes 22 295 women between the ages of 14–49 who had antenatal care visits at different times before delivery. Results The study revealed 1 481 cases of reported under-five mortality. 99.0% of that under-five mortality cases are women who had less than eight antenatal care visits, while only 1% of that is by women who had eight or more antenatal care visits. Antenatal care visit decreases the likelihood of under-five mortality in Ethiopia by 45.2% (CI = 19.2–71.3%, P-value < 0.001) while the timing of first antenatal care within the first trimester decreases the likelihood of under-five mortality by 10% (CI = 5.7–15.6%, P-value < 0.001). Conclusions To achieve a significant reduction in the under-five mortality rate, Intervention programs that encourages more antenatal care visits should be considered. This will improve child survival and help in attaining Sustainable Development Goal targets.


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