Timely initiation of breastfeeding and associated factors among mothers with vaginal and cesarean deliveries in public hospitals of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Background: WHO and UNICEF recommend breastfeeding to be initiated within an hour of birth. However, timely initiation of breastfeeding remains low in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the timely initiation of breastfeeding and associated factors with cesarean and vaginal deliveries in public hospitals in Addis Ababa, 2021. Methods and materials: Comparative cross-sectional study was conducted from January 2021 to February 2021 in public hospitals of Addis Ababa. 322 mothers within three days of delivery at the postnatal ward of the respective public hospitals were selected. A multi-stage sampling method was employed with the final participants being recruited by systematic random sampling. Data was entered to Epi data Version 4.6 and analysis was performed by SPSS Version 26. A Binary and multivariate logistic regression statistical model was used. Adjusted odds ratio with 95% CI was computed to see the strength of association. Result: Timely breastfeeding initiation was 79 (51.2%) and 123 (80%) for cesarean and vaginal deliveries. With a vaginal delivery, pre-lacteal feeding (AOR = 5.50, 95% CI: 1.83 - 16.57) was significantly associated with timely initiation of breastfeeding. Multiparity (AOR = 2.14, 95% CI: 1.02 - 4.50), support from health care workers (AOR = 2.602, 95% CI: 1.16 - 5.82), and pre-lacteal feeding (AOR = 2.55, 95% CI: 1.13 - 5.75) were significantly associated with timely initiation of breastfeeding with cesarean delivery. Conclusion: The rate of timely initiation of breastfeeding differs according to the mode of delivery. Cesarean delivery, as compared to vaginal delivery, was associated with a lower rate of timely initiation of breastfeeding

Community’s perception and attitude towards people with epilepsy in Ethiopia

Introduction. Most people with epilepsy suffer from a dual burden. In one hand, they struggle with the symptoms and disabilities on the other hand from misconceptions and stigma associated with it. But there are no recent studies which assess the community’s perception and attitude. Objective. To assess the perception and attitude of the community towards people with epilepsy and identify associated factors. Methods. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in South Ethiopia from a total of 701 participants. Data were collected with face to face interview using a structured questionnaire developed based on the Health Belief Model (HBM). Data were presented with frequencies, tables, and figures. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression was done to identify significantly important variables. The presence of association was presented by odds ratio and 95% confidence interval. Ethical clearance was obtained from Wolaita Sodo University. Results. The most frequently mentioned perceived causes for epilepsy were stress (91%), substance use (61.8%), and bad spirit (49.8%) while loss of consciousness and falling (80.7%) and sleep problems (78%) were considered symptoms of epilepsy. Only 13.1% of the participants think that they may be susceptible for epilepsy. Six hundred sixty (94.2%) participants will not employ a person with epilepsy while only 47 (6.7%) of the participants will allow a family member to marry a person with epilepsy. In multivariable analysis, understanding the illness as a medical problem was associated with perceived susceptibility and perceived benefit of modern treatment was significantly associated with having a current medical problem. Conclusions. The knowledge about the cause, possible susceptibility, better treatment options, and attitude of the participants were similar to other low-income settings. The negative attitude was high and multidimensional. All stakeholders must work to increase awareness about the cause, symptoms, and treatment options for epilepsy and to decrease the negative attitude of the community

Home birth and its determinants among antenatal care-booked women in public hospitals in Wolayta Zone, southern Ethiopia.

INTRODUCTION:Antenatal care (ANC), health facility birth and postnatal care services are proved to reduce maternal and newborn morbidity and mortality. In Ethiopia, even though antenatal care coverage is good, still home birth is high. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and determinants of home birth among women who were booked for ANC in public hospitals in Wolaita zone, southern Ethiopia. METHODS:A cohort study was conducted from February to May 2017 among 554 third trimester pregnant mothers who visited public hospitals of Wolaita Zone, southern Ethiopia for ANC service. All women were interviewed twice: the first interview was done face-to-face in the health facility in which they were having ANC follow up to gather information about basic socio-demographic and obstetric characteristics; the second interview was done via telephone after they gave birth to get information about the place of birth. Epi-Data version 3.1 was used for data entry and the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22 was used for data analysis. RESULTS:A total of 68 (13.5%; 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 10.5%-16.6%) women who were booked for ANC gave birth at home. Being uneducated (AOR = 2.46, 95% CI: [1.10-5.10]), starting ANC visit late (>16weeks) (AOR = 2.27, 95% CI: [1.14-4.50]), time taken to reach at health facility for ANC service (>30minutes) (AOR = 8.94, 95% CI: [4.50-17.72]), waiting time of greater than 30 minutes for ANC in health facilities (AOR = 1.18, 95% CI: [1.06-2.30]) and lack of knowledge about danger signs of pregnancy (AOR = 4.18, 95%CI: [1.80-9.70]) were significantly associated with home birth. CONCLUSIONS:Home birth among ANC booked women is low compared to other studies. Yet, giving attention to women with no education and those coming from far areas while providing advice on birth preparedness and pregnancy danger signs may be useful to further reduce the rate of home birth. Advising mothers to start ANC early and trying to reduce ANC waiting time could also be of importance