Objective The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and associated factors of preterm births among mothers who gave birth in Axum and Adwa public hospitals, Tigray, North Ethiopia, 2018. Result This study showed that 13.3% from the total 472 mothers gave a preterm birth. Being a rural resident (AOR = 2.13, 95% CI (1.07,4.22), short inter pregnancy interval (AOR = 5.4, 95% CI (1.32, 22.05), previous preterm birth (AOR = 3.74, 95% CI (1.03, 16.34), Premature rupture of membrane (AOR = 4.14, 95% CI (1.92, 8.89), induced onset of labor (AOR = 2.49, 95% CI (1.06, 5.85) multiple pregnancy (AOR = 5.69, 95% CI (2.27, 14.28), malaria during pregnancy (AOR = 4.71, 95% CI (1.98, 11.23), Presence of chronic illness (AOR = 4.55, 95% CI (1.83, 11.26) were significantly associated with preterm birth.

BackgroundMissed nursing care is considered an error of omission and is defined as any aspect of required patient care that is omitted (either in part or whole) or significantly delayed. Nursing care missed in the perinatal setting can cause negative outcomes and repercussions for the quality and safety of care. This has been reported in multiple settings and countries and is tied to negative maternal outcomes. Preventing missed nursing care requires in-depth research considering the clinical setting.ObjectiveThe main aim of the study was to assess commonly missed nursing care elements, reasons, and factors for the omission in the obstetric and gynecologic units of general hospitals in Tigray 2017/18.Methods and materialsA cross-sectional study was conducted in eight randomly selected general hospitals in Tigray, Ethiopia. A total of 422 nurses and midwives were selected through simple random sampling using the staff list as a sampling frame. To identify the commonly missed nursing care and related factors, the MISSCARE survey tool was used. Descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to assess potential risk factors of nursing cares omission.ResultThe study results showed that 299 (74.6%) participants commonly missed at least one nursing care in the perinatal setting. Labor resources 386(96.3%), teamwork 365(91%), material resources 361 (90%) and communication 342 (85.3%) were the reasons identified for commonly missing care. In the multivariate analyses, sex (p-value <0.001), educational level (p-value 0.034), working shift (p-value <0.001) and having an intention to leave the institution (p-value <0.001) showed a significant association with commonly missing care.ConclusionThe proportion of commonly missed nursing care was high. After adjusting for demographic variables, labor resources, material resources, and communication were reasons for commonly missed nursing care. Increasing male professional proportion, investing in nurses/midwives training, and harmonizing nursing service administration through appropriate working shift arrangement and timely assessment of professionals’ stability and satisfaction could minimize frequent omission of nursing care.

Background. Undernutrition is a global health problem, particularly in pregnant women. Despite the limited studies performed in different parts of Ethiopia, the information about the prevalence of undernutrition of pregnant women in the current study area is not documented. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the prevalence of undernutrition and associated factors in pregnant women. Methods. An institution-based cross-sectional study design was conducted in the Tigray region from August 01 to December 30, 2018. Study subjects were selected by systematic sampling technique from the respective hospitals. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data. Data were cleaned and entered using Epi-Data version 3.1 and then exported to statistical package for social science (SPSS) version 23.0 for analysis. Multivariate analyses were carried out, and adjusted odds ratios (AORs) with 95% CI and significance level ( p value) <0.05 were considered. Results. Out of the total 844 selected pregnant women, 840 participated in the study, yielding a response rate of 99.5%; of this, respondent’s undernutrition prevalence was found to be 40.6% with 95% confidence interval (38.93% and 42.27%). Agriculture as occupation (AOR = 2.6, 95% CI: 1.5, 4.5), women who wanted the pregnancy (AOR = 0.25, 95% CI: 0.14, 0.448), no history malaria during pregnancy (AOR = 0.291, 95%: (0.152, 0.555)), coffee intake during pregnancy (AOR = 1.6, 95% CI: 1.04, 2.69), and hemoglobin < 11 g/dl (AOR = 4.9, 95% CI: 3.09, 7.8) were the factors that were significantly associated with undernutrition, p value (<0.05). Conclusion. In this study, occupation, history of having malaria during pregnancy, wanted type pregnancy, coffee intake during pregnancy, and hemoglobin < 11 g/dl were factors significantly associated with undernutrition in pregnant mothers. So, healthcare providers, policymakers, and other stakeholders should give special focus on these factors.

BackgroundThe term meal frequency is used to describe the adequacy of complementary feedings among children. In the absence of adequate meal frequency young children are susceptible to malnutrition like stunting, wasting, micronutrient deficiencies and associated morbidity and mortality. More half of Ethiopian children did not receive age appropriate minimum meal frequency. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine minimum meal frequency and associated factors among children 6–23 months in Tahtay Michew district, Northern Ethiopia.MethodsA community based cross sectional study was conducted among systematically selected 981 mothers with index children 6–23 month. An interviewer- administered structured questionnaire was used to collect data. 24 hours dietary recalls was used to determine minimum meal frequency. Crude and Adjusted Odds Ratio with the corresponding 95% confidence interval were computed. In the multivariable analysis, variables with less than 0.05 P-value were considered statistically significant.ResultsMinimum meal frequency was 68% [95% CI: 64.9, 70.9%]. Wealth index (AOR = 1.69, 95% CI = 1.09, 2.61), growth monitoring follow up (AOR = 1.98, 95% CI = 1.41, 2.79) and mothers knowledge (AOR = 2.15, 95% CI = 1.51, 3.04) were factors significantly associated with minimum meal frequency.Conclusion and recommendationThe proportion of children who received the minimum meal frequency was found low. Improving the wealth status of families and encouraging all mothers to attend growth monitoring follow ups are important for improving meal frequency and dietary diversity.