Adolescent perinatal mental health in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review of qualitative and quantitative evidence.

Despite the contribution of mental ill-health to perinatal morbidity and mortality, the experiences of adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in low- and middle-income countries remain overlooked. This review explores potential intersecting vulnerabilities for perinatal mental health to identify the prevalence, risk factors, interventions, and implications for health services and future research. We searched mixed-methods English-language studies in four databases (MEDLINE, PsycInfo, Global Health, Embase) published between January 1, 2000 and April 30, 2022 reporting age-disaggregated data on the prevalence, risk factors, and interventions for AGYW's mental health during pregnancy through one year postpartum (quantitative) and/or the mental health experiences of AGYW in the perinatal period (qualitative). Our search yielded 3205 results, of which 48 met the inclusion criteria. Both regions observe a paucity of robust evidence and intervention evaluations, particularly South Asia. While meta-analysis was infeasible due to study heterogeneity, quantitative studies do identify individual-level risk factors for perinatal depression. Qualitative studies emphasise stigma's impact, among other societal-level social risk factors, on diverse perinatal mental health outcomes of importance to AGYW themselves. Rigorous evaluations of interventions are lacking bar two protocols with forthcoming results. Evidence gaps persist concerning prevalence of outcomes beyond depression and implications of AGYW's perinatal experiences including pregnancy/perinatal loss and obstetric and postpartum complications. High-quality research, including comparable prevalence and multi-method evidence identifying risk and protective factors and promising interventions is urgently needed to improve adolescent wellbeing in the perinatal period. A key strength of this review is our assessment of available evidence for both regions. In doing so, we address a critical blind spot of prior reviews that focused either on adult perinatal mental health in low- and middle-income countries, or on AGYW perinatal mental health in high-income settings but neglected the intersection of these potential vulnerabilities for these high-burden, low-resource contexts

mHealth interventions for postpartum family planning in LMICs: A realist review

The unmet need for family planning is a pervasive public health concern in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Mobile health (mHealth) interventions have been designed and implemented in LMIC settings to address this issue through health information dissemination via voice calls, apps, and short message services (SMS). Although the impact of mHealth programmes on postpartum family planning outcomes have been systematically reviewed, the contexts, conditions, and mechanisms underpinning programme engagement and their impact on outcomes remain unclear. This study aims to formulate hypotheses in the form of context-mechanism-outcome configurations (CMOCs) of whether, how, why, for whom, and in what contexts mHealth interventions implemented in LMICs influence postpartum family planning (PPFP) outcomes. We conducted a realist review of peer-reviewed and grey literature. Peer-reviewed literature was identified through MEDLINE, Embase, Global Health, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. Grey Literature was identified through The National Grey Literature Conference, FHI 360, Guttmacher Institute, Population Council, and MSI Reproductive Choices. Inclusion criteria were updated as the review progressed. Narrative data were analysed using dimensional analysis to build CMOCs. Two overarching concepts (underpinned by 12 CMOCs) emerged from the 37 included records: mobile phone access, use, and ownership as well as women’s motivation. Women’s confidence to independently own, access, and operate a mobile phone was a central mechanism leading to mHealth programme engagement and subsequent change in PPFP knowledge, awareness, and outcomes. Receiving family and social support positively interacted with this while low digital literacy and harmful gender norms pertaining to prescribed domestic duties and women’s household influence were barriers to programme engagement. Intrinsic motivation for health improvement functioned at times both as a context and potential mechanism influencing mHealth programme engagement and PPFP outcomes. However, these contexts rarely occur in isolation and need to be evaluated as co-occurring phenomena. (Review registration: PROSPERO CRD42023386841)

Postpartum recovery after severe maternal morbidity in Kilifi, Kenya: a grounded theory of recovery trajectories beyond 42 days

Introduction The burden of severe maternal morbidity is highest in sub-Saharan Africa, and its relative contribution to maternal (ill) health may increase as maternal mortality continues to fall. Women’s perspective of their long-term recovery following severe morbidity beyond the standard 42-day postpartum period remains largely unexplored. Methods This woman-centred, grounded theory study was nested within the Pregnancy Care Integrating Translational Science Everywhere (PRECISE) study in Kilifi, Kenya. Purposive and theoretical sampling was used to recruit 20 women who experienced either a maternal near-miss event (n=11), potentially life-threatening condition (n=6) or no severe morbidity (n=3). Women were purposively selected between 6 and 36 months post partum at the time of interview to compare recovery trajectories. Using a constant comparative approach of line-by-line open codes, focused codes, super-categories and themes, we developed testable hypotheses of women’s postpartum recovery trajectories after severe maternal morbidity. Results Grounded in women’s accounts of their lived experience, we identify three phases of recovery following severe maternal morbidity: ‘loss’, ‘transition’ and ‘adaptation to a new normal’. These themes are supported by multiple, overlapping super-categories: loss of understanding of own health, functioning and autonomy; transition in women’s identity and relationships; and adaptation to a new physical, psychosocial and economic state. This recovery process is multidimensional, potentially cyclical and extends far beyond the standard 42-day postpartum period. Conclusion Women’s complex needs following severe maternal morbidity require a reconceptualisation of postpartum recovery as extending far beyond the standard 42-day postpartum period. Women’s accounts expose major deficiencies in the provision of postpartum and mental healthcare. Improved postpartum care provision at the primary healthcare level, with reach extended through community health workers, is essential to identify and treat chronic mental or physical health problems following severe maternal morbidity

The lifetime risk of maternal near miss morbidity in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America: a cross-country systematic analysis

Background: Life-threatening maternal near miss (MNM) morbidity can have long-term consequences for the physical, psychological, sexual, social, and economic wellbeing of female individuals. The lifetime risk of MNM (LTR-MNM) quantifies the probability that a female individual aged 15 years will have an MNM before age 50 years, given current mortality and fertility rates. We compare the LTR-MNM globally to reveal inequities in the cumulative burden of severe maternal morbidity across the reproductive life course. Methods: We estimated the LTR-MNM for 40 countries with multifacility, regional, or national data on the prevalence of MNM morbidity measured using WHO or modified WHO criteria of organ dysfunction from 2010 onwards (Central and Southern Asia=6, Eastern and Southeastern Asia=9, Latin America and the Caribbean=10, Northern Africa and Western Asia=2, sub-Saharan Africa=13). We also calculated the lifetime risk of severe maternal outcome (LTR-SMO) as the lifetime risk of maternal death or MNM. Findings: The LTR-MNM ranges from a 1 in 269 risk in Viet Nam (2010) to 1 in 6 in Guatemala (2016), whereas the LTR-SMO ranges from a 1 in 201 risk in Malaysia (2014) to 1 in 5 in Guatemala (2016). The LTR-MNM is a 1 in 20 risk or higher in nine countries, seven of which are in sub-Saharan Africa. The LTR-SMO is a 1 in 20 risk or higher in 11 countries, eight of which are in sub-Saharan Africa. The relative contribution of the LTR-MNM to the LTR-SMO ranges from 42% in Angola to 99% in Japan. Interpretation: There exist substantial global and regional disparities in the cumulative burden of severe maternal morbidity across the reproductive life course. The LTR-MNM is an important indicator to highlight the magnitude of inequalities in MNM morbidity, once accounting for obstetric risk, fertility rates, and mortality rates. The LTR-SMO can be used to highlight variation in the relative importance of morbidity to the overall burden of maternal ill-health across the female reproductive life course, given countries’ stage in the obstetric transition. Both the LTR-MNM and LTR-SMO can serve as important indicators to advocate for further global commitment to end preventable maternal morbidity and mortality. Funding: UK Economic and Social Research Council, EU Horizon 2020 Marie Curie Fellowship, and Leverhulme Trust Large Centre Grant

Pregnancy-related mortality up to 1 year postpartum in sub-Saharan Africa: an analysis of verbal autopsy data from six countries

Objective: To compare the causes of death for women who died during pregnancy and within the first 42 days postpartum with those of women who died between \u3e42 days and within 1 year postpartum. Design: Open population cohort (Health and Demographic Surveillance Systems). Setting: Ten Health and Demographic Surveillance Systems (HDSS) in The Gambia, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Ethiopia and South Africa. Population: 2114 deaths which occurred within 1 year of the end of pregnancy where a verbal autopsy interview was conducted from 2000 to 2019. Methods: InterVA5 and InSilicoVA verbal autopsy algorithms were used to at-tribute the most likely underlying cause of death, which were grouped according to adapted International Classification of Diseases-Maternal Mortality categories. Multinomial regression was used to compare differences in causes of deaths within42 days versus 43–365 days postpartum adjusting for HDSS and time period (2000– 2009 and 2010–2019). Main outcome measures: Cause of death and the verbal autopsy Circumstances of Mortality Categories (COMCATs). Results: Of 2114 deaths, 1212 deaths occurred within 42 days postpartum and 902 be-tween 43 and 365 days postpartum. Compared with deaths within 42 days, deaths from HIV and TB, other infectious diseases, and non-communicable diseases constituted a significantly larger proportion of late pregnancy-related deaths beyond 42 days postpar-tum, and health system failures were important in the circumstances of those deaths. The contribution of HIV and TB to deaths beyond 42 days postpartum was greatest in Southern Africa. The causes of pregnancy-related mortality within and beyond 42 days postpartum did not change significantly between 2000–2009 and 2010–2019. Conclusions: Cause of death data from the extended postpartum period are critical to in-form prevention. The dominance of HIV and TB, other infectious and non-communicable diseases to (late) pregnancy-related mortality highlights the need for better integration of non-obstetric care with ante-, intra- and postpartum care in high-burden setting

Lifetime risk of maternal near miss morbidity: a novel indicator of maternal health.

BACKGROUND: The lifetime risk of maternal death quantifies the probability that a 15-year-old girl will die of a maternal cause in her reproductive lifetime. Its intuitive appeal means it is a widely used summary measure for advocacy and international comparisons of maternal health. However, relative to mortality, women are at an even higher risk of experiencing life-threatening maternal morbidity called 'maternal near miss' (MNM) events-complications so severe that women almost die. As maternal mortality continues to decline, health indicators that include information on both fatal and non-fatal maternal outcomes are required. METHODS: We propose a novel measure-the lifetime risk of MNM-to estimate the cumulative risk that a 15-year-old girl will experience a MNM in her reproductive lifetime, accounting for mortality between the ages 15 and 49 years. We apply the method to the case of Namibia (2019) using estimates of fertility and survival from the United Nations World Population Prospects along with nationally representative data on the MNM ratio. RESULTS: We estimate a lifetime risk of MNM in Namibia in 2019 of between 1 in 40 and 1 in 35 when age-disaggregated MNM data are used, and 1 in 38 when a summary estimate for ages 15-49 years is used. This compares to a lifetime risk of maternal death of 1 in 142 and yields a lifetime risk of severe maternal outcome (MNM or death) of 1 in 30. CONCLUSIONS: The lifetime risk of MNM is an urgently needed indicator of maternal morbidity because existing measures (the MNM ratio or rate) do not capture the cumulative risk over the reproductive life course, accounting for fertility and mortality levels

Women's risk of death beyond 42 days post partum: a pooled analysis of longitudinal Health and Demographic Surveillance System data in sub-Saharan Africa.

BACKGROUND: WHO's standard definitions of pregnancy-related and maternal deaths only include deaths that occur within 42 days of delivery, termination, or abortion, with major implications for post-partum care and maternal mortality surveillance. We therefore estimated post-partum survival from childbirth up to 1 year post partum to evaluate the empirical justification for the 42-day post-partum threshold. METHODS: We used prospective, longitudinal Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS) data from 30 sites across 12 sub-Saharan African countries to estimate women's risk of death from childbirth until 1 year post partum from all causes. Observations were included if the childbirth occurred from 1991 onwards in the HDSS site and maternal age was 10-54 years. We calculated person-years as the time between childbirth and next birth, outmigration, death, or the end of the first year post partum, whichever occurred first. For six post-partum risk intervals (0-1 days, 2-6 days, 7-13 days, 14-41 days, 42-122 days, and 4-11 months), we calculated the adjusted rate ratios of death relative to a baseline risk of 12-17 months post partum. FINDINGS: Between Jan 1, 1991, and Feb 24, 2020, 647 104 births occurred in the HDSS sites, contributing to 602 170 person-years of exposure time and 1967 deaths within 1 year of delivery. After adjustment for confounding, mortality was 38·82 (95% CI 33·21-45·29) times higher than baseline on days 0-1 after childbirth, 4·97 (3·94-6·21) times higher for days 2-6, 3·35 (2·64-4·20) times higher for days 7-13, and 2·06 (1·74-2·44) times higher for days 14-41. From 42 days to 4 months post partum, mortality was still 1·20 (1·03-1·39) times higher (ie, a 20% higher risk), but deaths in this interval would be excluded from measurement of pregnancy-related mortality. Extending the WHO 42-day post-partum threshold up to 4 months would increase the post-partum pregnancy-related mortality ratio by 40%. INTERPRETATION: This multicountry study has implications for measurement and clinical practice. It makes the case for WHO to extend the 42-day post-partum threshold to capture the full duration of risk of pregnancy-related deaths. There is a need for a new indicator to track late pregnancy-related deaths that occur beyond 42 days, which are otherwise excluded from global maternal health surveillance efforts. Our results also emphasise the need for international agencies to disaggregate estimates by antepartum, intrapartum, postpartum, and extended post-partum periods. Additionally, the schedule and content of postnatal care packages should reflect the extended duration of post-partum risk. FUNDING: The UK Economic and Social Research Council

mHealth interventions for postpartum family planning in LMICs: A realist review.

The unmet need for family planning is a pervasive public health concern in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Mobile health (mHealth) interventions have been designed and implemented in LMIC settings to address this issue through health information dissemination via voice calls, apps, and short message services (SMS). Although the impact of mHealth programmes on postpartum family planning outcomes have been systematically reviewed, the contexts, conditions, and mechanisms underpinning programme engagement and their impact on outcomes remain unclear. This study aims to formulate hypotheses in the form of context-mechanism-outcome configurations (CMOCs) of whether, how, why, for whom, and in what contexts mHealth interventions implemented in LMICs influence postpartum family planning (PPFP) outcomes. We conducted a realist review of peer-reviewed and grey literature. Peer-reviewed literature was identified through MEDLINE, Embase, Global Health, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. Grey Literature was identified through The National Grey Literature Conference, FHI 360, Guttmacher Institute, Population Council, and MSI Reproductive Choices. Inclusion criteria were updated as the review progressed. Narrative data were analysed using dimensional analysis to build CMOCs. Two overarching concepts (underpinned by 12 CMOCs) emerged from the 37 included records: mobile phone access, use, and ownership as well as women's motivation. Women's confidence to independently own, access, and operate a mobile phone was a central mechanism leading to mHealth programme engagement and subsequent change in PPFP knowledge, awareness, and outcomes. Receiving family and social support positively interacted with this while low digital literacy and harmful gender norms pertaining to prescribed domestic duties and women's household influence were barriers to programme engagement. Intrinsic motivation for health improvement functioned at times both as a context and potential mechanism influencing mHealth programme engagement and PPFP outcomes. However, these contexts rarely occur in isolation and need to be evaluated as co-occurring phenomena. (Review registration: PROSPERO CRD42023386841)

Pregnancy-related mortality up to 1 year postpartum in sub-Saharan Africa:an analysis of verbal autopsy data from six countries

Objective: To compare the causes of death for women who died during pregnancy and within the first 42 days postpartum with those of women who died between >42 days and within 1 year postpartum. Design: Open population cohort (Health and Demographic Surveillance Systems). Setting: Ten Health and Demographic Surveillance Systems (HDSS) in The Gambia, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Ethiopia and South Africa. Population: 2114 deaths which occurred within 1 year of the end of pregnancy where a verbal autopsy interview was conducted from 2000 to 2019. Methods: InterVA5 and InSilicoVA verbal autopsy algorithms were used to attribute the most likely underlying cause of death, which were grouped according to adapted International Classification of Diseases-Maternal Mortality categories. Multinomial regression was used to compare differences in causes of deaths within 42 days versus 43–365 days postpartum adjusting for HDSS and time period (2000–2009 and 2010–2019). Main outcome measures: Cause of death and the verbal autopsy Circumstances of Mortality Categories (COMCATs). Results: Of 2114 deaths, 1212 deaths occurred within 42 days postpartum and 902 between 43 and 365 days postpartum. Compared with deaths within 42 days, deaths from HIV and TB, other infectious diseases, and non-communicable diseases constituted a significantly larger proportion of late pregnancy-related deaths beyond 42 days postpartum, and health system failures were important in the circumstances of those deaths. The contribution of HIV and TB to deaths beyond 42 days postpartum was greatest in Southern Africa. The causes of pregnancy-related mortality within and beyond 42 days postpartum did not change significantly between 2000–2009 and 2010–2019. Conclusions: Cause of death data from the extended postpartum period are critical to inform prevention. The dominance of HIV and TB, other infectious and non-communicable diseases to (late) pregnancy-related mortality highlights the need for better integration of non-obstetric care with ante-, intra- and postpartum care in high-burden settings

SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in pregnant women in Kilifi, Kenya from March 2020 to March 2022

BackgroundSeroprevalence studies are an alternative approach to estimating the extent of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and the evolution of the pandemic in different geographical settings. We aimed to determine the SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence from March 2020 to March 2022 in a rural and urban setting in Kilifi County, Kenya.MethodsWe obtained representative random samples of stored serum from a pregnancy cohort study for the period March 2020 to March 2022 and tested for antibodies against the spike protein using a qualitative SARS-CoV-2 ELISA kit (Wantai, total antibodies). All positive samples were retested for anti-SARS-CoV-2 anti-nucleocapsid antibodies (Euroimmun, ELISA kits, NCP, qualitative, IgG) and anti-spike protein antibodies (Euroimmun, ELISA kits, QuantiVac; quantitative, IgG).ResultsA total of 2,495 (of 4,703 available) samples were tested. There was an overall trend of increasing seropositivity from a low of 0% [95% CI 0–0.06] in March 2020 to a high of 89.4% [95% CI 83.36–93.82] in Feb 2022. Of the Wantai test-positive samples, 59.7% [95% CI 57.06–62.34] tested positive by the Euroimmun anti-SARS-CoV-2 NCP test and 37.4% [95% CI 34.83–40.04] tested positive by the Euroimmun anti-SARS-CoV-2 QuantiVac test. No differences were observed between the urban and rural hospital but villages adjacent to the major highway traversing the study area had a higher seroprevalence.ConclusionAnti-SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence rose rapidly, with most of the population exposed to SARS-CoV-2 within 23 months of the first cases. The high cumulative seroprevalence suggests greater population exposure to SARS-CoV-2 than that reported from surveillance data