Praying until Death: Apostolicism, Delays and Maternal Mortality in Zimbabwe.

Religion affects people's daily lives by solving social problems, although it creates others. Female sexual and reproductive health are among the issues most affected by religion. Apostolic sect members in Zimbabwe have been associated with higher maternal mortality. We explored apostolic beliefs and practices on maternal health using 15 key informant interviews in 5 purposively selected districts of Zimbabwe. Results show that apostolicism promotes high fertility, early marriage, non-use of contraceptives and low or non-use of hospital care. It causes delays in recognizing danger signs, deciding to seek care, reaching and receiving appropriate health care. The existence of a customized spiritual maternal health system demonstrates a huge desire for positive maternal health outcomes among apostolics. We conclude that apostolic beliefs and practices exacerbate delays between onset of maternal complications and receiving help, thus increasing maternal risk. We recommend complementary and adaptive approaches that address the maternal health needs of apostolics in a religiously sensitive manner

Zimbabwe (2013): Qualitative Segmentation Study on Family Planning among women and men aged 18-49 years in Zimbabwe

The PSI Zimbabwe program seeks to promote the use of long-acting reversible contraceptive methods as a means of reducing unintended pregnancies in the country. However, very little is known about the barriers and facilitating factors towards the uptake of long-acting and permanent family planning methods. Against this backdrop, the purpose of this study was to examine factors that motivate and or inhibit women to use long term methods of family planning. In addition the study seeks to profile users of these methods so as to effectively target women in Zimbabwe. Thi s is a qualitative study with in-depth interviews among adult men and women 15 to 49 years. Both users and non-users of family planning methods were purposively selected in urban and rural Zimbabwe to participate in this study

Socio-demographic characteristics of study participants.

<p>Socio-demographic characteristics of study participants.</p

Socio-demographic Characteristics of Respondents.

<p>Socio-demographic Characteristics of Respondents.</p