BackgroundNeural tube defects are among the most common birth defects, contributing to miscarriage, infant mortality, severe congenital abnormalities and serious disabilities. It is burdensome to patients, caregivers, healthcare systems and society. It could be reduced if women consume a folic acid supplement before and during the early weeks of pregnancy. This study assesses folic acid usage and associated factors for the prevention of neural tube defects among pregnant women in Ethiopia.MethodsInstitution based cross-sectional study was conducted on 417 systematically sampled, consented pregnant women that visited Adama hospital medical college for antenatal care during August to November 2014. Pretested interviewer administered questionnaire was used to collect socio-demographic, obstetric characteristics and folic acid usage of women.ResultAbout 48.4% of women took a folic acid supplement at different period of pregnancy; but, only 1.92% of women took the supplement at a protective period against neural tube defects. Age, the early timing of antenatal registration, was a preconception consulted, previous unsuccessful pregnancies and level of folic acid awareness were significantly associated with folic acid usage for prevention of neural tube defects.ConclusionsFolic acid usage during the protective period against neural tube defects among women in Ethiopia is very low, so healthcare plan to improve intake of folic acid is required.

Background Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is the descent of the vaginal wall, cervix, uterus, bladder, and rectum downward into the vaginal canal. Its prevalence is higher among women in developing countries because women are more prone to risk factors. In Ethiopia, women with prolapse seek treatments at advanced stages of prolapse; hence, surgical management has been widely practicing. Therefore, it was found to be very important to conduct research that assesses factors hindering early treatments in Southern Ethiopia. This study aimed to find out factors associated with the delay in seeking treatment of pelvic organ prolapse among patients at selected general and referral hospitals of Southern Ethiopia. Methods Cross-sectional study design was employed in 123 participants of seven randomly selected General and Referral Hospitals of Southern Ethiopia from February 01 to April 30, 2020, by using a structured questionnaire. Pre-trained two midwives in each center were deployed to collect data. Physicians performed diagnosis and physical examination. Data were entered and coded using EPI INFO version 7 and exported into SPSS version 25 for analysis. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed. The goodness of fit was assessed by using the Hosmer and Lemeshow goodness test. Results In this study, out of 123 clinically diagnosed POP cases, nearly half of them were stage III, and over one-third were stage IV. Therefore, 84.6% (104 participants) of the respondents were delayed for the treatment of POP. The mean length of delay for POP treatments was 36.41 ± 3.95 months. After adjusting for covariates, lack of supports [AOR (Adjusted Odds Ratio) = 5.2 (95% CI 1.4–19.5)], low-income [AOR = 5.8 (95% CI 1.1–19.66)], and fear of social stigma [AOR = 4.7 (95% CI 1.2–18.59)] were significant factors for delayed treatments. Conclusions Most of the POP patients were delayed for POP treatments. Factors like lack of support, low-income, and fear of losing social value/stigma were associated with treatment delay. Screening for the POP cases, educating (making awareness) the community about this devastating disease to facilitate early treatment and to avoid social stigma, and raising access to treatment by making the nearby hospitals equipped with facilities to treat POP are recommended.

Background Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is the descent of the vaginal wall, cervix, uterus, bladder, and rectum downward into the vaginal canal. It occurs owing to the weakness of the structures supporting and keeping pelvic organs in anatomic position. Prolapse occurs due to exposure to risk factors; women in developing countries are highly predisposed to the risk factors of the prolapse. No study assesses POP in Southern Ethiopia. Methods A case-control study design was employed in 369 participants (123 cases and 246 controls) of seven randomly selected Public Hospitals of Southern Ethiopia from February-June, 2020, using a structured questionnaire. All patients diagnosed with prolapse (stage I- IV) were included as cases; patients free of prolapse (stage 0) were taken as controls after physicians had performed a diagnosis and vaginal examination. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed using SPSS. Results In this study, after adjusting for covariates, age of the women ≥ 45 years (AOR = 5.33, 95% CI: 1.47, 9.05), underweight (AOR= 4.54, 95% CI: 1.4, 15.76), low income (AOR = 2.5, 95% CI:1.14, 5.59), parity ≥5 (AOR = 5.2, 95% CI: 2.2, 12.55), assisted vaginal delivery (AOR= 4, 95% CI: 1.55, 11.63), instrumental delivery (AOR= 3.5, 95% CI:1.45, 84), sphincter damage and vaginal tear (AOR = 3.2, 95% CI:1.44,7.1), carrying heavy loads (AOR= 2.5, 95% CI:1.2, 5.35), and prolonged labor ≥24 hours (AOR = 3.3, 95% CI:1.12, 97) were significant associated factors of prolapse. The odds of developing prolapse is lower among women attended school. Most(84.55%) of the women with prolapse were delayed for the treatments and only surgical interventions were done as treatments. Most of them claimed lack of social support, lack of money, and social stigma as the main reasons for the delay in seeking treatments. Conclusions Older age, low educational status, underweight, low income, higher parity, assisted vaginal delivery, prolonged labor, sphincter damage, and carrying heavy loads were significant associated factors of POP. It is better to screen older age women by doing campaigns against the prolapse. Also, responsible bodies should work on raising awareness of women as well as awareness of the community about the prolapse through expanding health education. Moreover, informing women to practice pelvic muscle training daily, raising women’s income to empower them, and help of family members to reduce carrying an overload of mothers are recommended.

Background: Neural tube defects are congenital anomalies of the brain, spinal cord, and their surrounding structures. Folic acid intake before and during the early weeks of pregnancy could reduce neural tube and other birth defects. Folic acid usage in the protective period of pregnancy against the neural tube defects is related to high level of awareness. This study aimed at evaluating the level of folic acid awareness for the prevention of neural tube defects and associated factors among pregnant women in Adama, South East Ethiopia. Method: A descriptive cross-sectional study design was used.398 consented pregnant women attending antenatal care in Adama were the participants of the study. The women were selected by using a systematic random sampling method. A structured pretested interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data. The questionnaire was concerned with participants' demographic information, and their awareness about folic acid, roles of folic acid, and the recommended time of intake. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20 statical software. Simple and multiple binary logistic regression analyses were conducted. 95% confidence interval and p-value were used to evaluate the association between dependent and independent variables. Results: Of the interviewed women, 20.9% reported having heard or read something about folic acid supplements. But only 1.01% and 6.03% were aware of the recommended time of intake and the role of folic acid in preventing neural tube defects and other congenital anomalies respectively. The healthcare providers were the primary source of information about folic acid, which account 78.3%. Folic acid awareness was associated with age, educational status, household monthly income, week of pregnancy at the first antenatal visit, any complication during current pregnancy, and use of folic acid during current pregnancy. Conclusions: Most of the pregnant women were not aware of folic acid, its importance and the recommended time of intake for preventing neural tube defects. Further effort is required from policymakers, healthcare providers, the media, and community to increase women's awareness about folic acid.