Background To determine the gender differences in neonatal mortality, stillbirths, and perinatal mortality in south Asia using the Global Network data from the Maternal Newborn Health Registry. Methods This study is a secondary analysis of prospectively collected data from the three south Asian sites of the Global Network. The maternal and neonatal demographic, clinical characteristics, rates of stillbirths, early neonatal mortality (1–7 days), late neonatal mortality (8–28 days), mortality between 29–42 days and the number of infants hospitalized after birth were compared between the male and female infants. Results Between 2010 and 2018, 297,509 births [154,790 males (52.03%) and 142,719 females (47.97%)] from two Indian sites and one Pakistani site were included in the analysis [288,859 live births (97.1%) and 8,648 stillbirths (2.9%)]. The neonatal mortality rate was significantly higher in male infants (33.2/1,000 live births) compared to their female counterparts (27.4/1,000, p < 0.001). The rates of stillbirths (31.0 vs. 26.9/1000 births) and early neonatal mortality (27.1 vs 21.6/1000 live births) were also higher in males. However, there were no significant differences in late neonatal mortality (6.3 vs. 5.9/1000 live births) and mortality between 29–42 days (2.1 vs. 1.9/1000 live births) between the two groups. More male infants were hospitalized within 42 days after birth (1.8/1000 vs. 1.3/1000 live births, p < 0.001) than females. Conclusion The risks of stillbirths, and early neonatal mortality were higher among male infants than their female counterparts. However, there was no gender difference in mortality after 7 days of age. Our results highlight the importance of stratifying neonatal mortality into early and late neonatal period to better understand the impact of gender on neonatal mortality. The information from this study will help in developing strategies and identifying measures that can reduce differences in sex-specific mortality.

Background Few studies have shown how the move toward institutional delivery in low and middle-income countries (LMIC) impacts stillbirth and newborn mortality. Objectives The study evaluated trends in institutional delivery in research sites in Belagavi and Nagpur India, Guatemala, Kenya, Pakistan, and Zambia from 2010 to 2018 and compared them to changes in the rates of neonatal mortality and stillbirth. Methods We analyzed data from a nine-year interval captured in the Global Network (GN) Maternal Newborn Health Registry (MNHR). Mortality rates were estimated from generalized estimating equations controlling for within-cluster correlation. Cluster-level analyses were performed to assess the association between institutional delivery and mortality rates. Results From 2010 to 2018, a total of 413,377 deliveries in 80 clusters across 6 sites in 5 countries were included in these analyses. An increase in the proportion of institutional deliveries occurred in all sites, with a range in 2018 from 57.7 to 99.8%. In 2010, the stillbirth rates ranged from 19.3 per 1000 births in the Kenyan site to 46.2 per 1000 births in the Pakistani site and by 2018, ranged from 9.7 per 1000 births in the Belagavi, India site to 40.8 per 1000 births in the Pakistani site. The 2010 neonatal mortality rates ranged from 19.0 per 1000 live births in the Kenyan site to 51.3 per 1000 live births in the Pakistani site with the 2018 neonatal mortality rates ranging from 9.2 per 1000 live births in the Zambian site to 50.2 per 1000 live births in the Pakistani site. In multivariate modeling, in some but not all sites, the reductions in stillbirth and neonatal death were significantly associated with an increase in the institutional deliveries. Conclusions There was an increase in institutional delivery rates in all sites and a reduction in stillbirth and neonatal mortality rates in some of the GN sites over the past decade. The relationship between institutional delivery and a decrease in mortality was significant in some but not all sites. However, the stillbirth and neonatal mortality rates remain at high levels. Understanding the relationship between institutional delivery and stillbirth and neonatal deaths in resource-limited environments will enable development of targeted interventions for reducing the mortality burden. Trial registration The study is registered at clinicaltrials.gov. ClinicalTrial.gov Trial Registration: NCT01073475.

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Objective: To identify baseline clinical and demographic characteristics associated with clinically important treatment responses in a randomized trial of non-surgical therapies for fecal incontinence (FI).Methods: Women (N=296) with FI were randomized to loperamide or placebo and manometryassisted biofeedback exercises or educational pamphlet in a 2×2 factorial design. Treatment response was defined in 3 ways: minimally clinically important difference (MID) of −5 points in St. Mark's score, ≥50% reduction in FI episodes and combined St. Mark's MID and ≥50% reduction FI episodes, from baseline to 24 weeks. Multivariable logistic regression models included baseline characteristics and treatment group with and without controlling for drug and exercise adherence.Results: Treatment response defined by St. Mark's MID was associated with higher symptom severity (adjusted Odds Ratio [aOR] 1.20, 95%CI 1.11 -1.28) and being overweight vs normal/ underweight (aOR 2.15, 95%CI 1.07 -4.34); these predictors remained controlling for adherence. 50% reduction in FI episodes was associated with combined loperamide/biofeedback group compared to placebo/pamphlet (aOR 4.04,, St. Mark's score in the placebo/ pamphlet group (aOR 1.29, 95%CI 1.01-1.65), FI subtype of urge vs urge plus passive FI (aOR 2.39, 95%CI 1.09-5.25) and passive vs urge plus passive FI, (aOR 3.26, 95% CI 1.48-7.17). Controlling for adherence, associations remained, except St. Mark's score. Conclusion:Higher severity of FI symptoms, being overweight, drug adherence, FI subtype, and combined biofeedback and medication treatment were associated with clinically important treatment responses. This information may assist in counseling patients regarding efficacy and expectations of non-surgical treatments of FI.

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