Inequities and their determinants in coverage of maternal health services in Burkina Faso

Background: Poor and marginalized segments of society often display the worst health status due to limited access to health enhancing interventions. It follows that in order to enhance the health status of entire populations, inequities in access to health care services need to be addressed as an inherent element of any effort targeting Universal Health Coverage. In line with this observation and the need to generate evidence on the equity status quo in sub-Saharan Africa, we assessed the magnitude of the inequities and their determinants in coverage of maternal health services in Burkina Faso. Methods: We assessed coverage for three basic maternal care services (at least four antenatal care visits, facility-based delivery, and at least one postnatal care visit) using data from a cross-sectional household survey including a total of 6655 mostly rural, poor women who had completed a pregnancy in the 24 months prior to the survey date. We assessed equity along the dimensions of household wealth, distance to the health facility, and literacy using both simple comparative measures and concentration indices. We also ran hierarchical random effects regression to confirm the presence or absence of inequities due to household wealth, distance, and literacy, while controlling for potential confounders. Results: Coverage of facility based delivery was high (89%), but suboptimal for at least four antenatal care visits (44%) and one postnatal care visit (53%). We detected inequities along the dimensions of household wealth, literacy and distance. Service coverage was higher among the least poor, those who were literate, and those living closer to a health facility. We detected a significant positive association between household wealth and all outcome variables, and a positive association between literacy and facility-based delivery. We detected a negative association between living farther away from the catchment facility and all outcome variables. Conclusion: Existing inequities in maternal health services in Burkina Faso are likely going to jeopardize the achievement of Universal Health Coverage. It is important that policy makers continue to strengthen and monitor the implementation of strategies that promote proportionate universalism and forge multi-sectoral approach in dealing with social determinants of inequities in maternal health services coverage

Hemodynamic Adaptations in Different Trimesters Among Nulliparous and Multiparous Pregnant Women; The Generation R Study

BACKGROUND It has been suggested that maternal vascular adaptations during pregnancy differ between nulliparous and multiparous women. Therefore, we examined the associations of parity with blood pressure and hemodynamic placental function during pregnancy and risks of gestational hypertensive disorders. METHODS The study was embedded in a population-based prospective cohort study among 8,377 pregnant women. Information about parity and gravidity was obtained at enrollment. Blood pressure was repeatedly measured in each trimester and mean pulsatility and resistance indexes of uterine artery were measured in second and third trimesters. Information on gestational hypertension and preeclampsia was available from medical records. RESULTS As compared with nulliparous women, multiparous women had a lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure in each trimester of pregnancy and a slightly higher second and third trimester uterine artery resistance and pulsatility indexes (all P values < 0.05), but a lower risk of third trimester uterine artery notching (odds ratio (OR) 0.67(95% confidence interval (CI):0.53, 0.84)).The risks of gestational hypertension and preeclampsia were lower among multiparous women as compared with nulliparous CONCLUSIONS Nulliparous pregnant women have higher blood pressure levels throughout pregnancy and higher risks of notching and gestational hypertensive disorders. The first pregnancy might be a major risk factor for maternal hemodynamic maladaptations and vascular complications. Further studies are needed to explore the underlying mechanisms and consequences for fetal growth and development