Background/Aims Anaemia in pregnancy is a severe public health problem in low- and middle-income countries with consequences for both pregnant women and babies. Prevalence rates and associated factors in most Ghanaian communities are unknown. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of anaemia and related factors at antenatal care booking among pregnant Ghanaian women in an urban setting. Methods This facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted among pregnant women reporting for booking at the antenatal clinic of the Tamale Central Hospital in Ghana. A self-designed data collection tool was used and the anaemic status of participants was determined using packed cell volume cut-off (<30.0%). Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine the association between participants' study variables and anaemia. Results A total of 606 pregnant women with a mean age of 27.7±5.4 years took part in the study. The prevalence of anaemia was 39.6%. Univariate analysis revealed that pregnant women aged 26–30 years (P=0.01) or >30 years (P<0.001), those who reported for booking in their first trimester of pregnancy (P=0.0043) and those who reported for booking during their second trimester (P=0.0011) were significantly associated with anaemia. In multivariate analysis, only women reporting for booking in their second trimester of pregnancy were significantly associated with anaemia (adjusted odds ratio: 1.8, P<0.001). Conclusions The prevalence of anaemia at booking among pregnant Ghanaian urban dwellers remains relatively high and calls for improved education on maternal health, most notably on the need to report early for booking at antenatal facilities to improve both maternal and infant birth outcomes.

Background: Diarrhoeal diseases constitute a significant burden on the health and growth of children the world over. Globally, diarrhoeal conditions remain the second leading cause of death among children under 5. Knowledge, attitudes and practice of caregivers are at the heart of diarrhoeal disease prevention and proper management. Objective: This review aimed to assess caregivers' knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding diarrhoea in children under five years old in sub-Saharan Africa, as discussed in the literature. Design: Integrative narrative review Data Sources: The review saw an extensive search on two electronic databases. Search results were screened using inclusion and exclusion criteria. At the end of the screening, 37 studies were included in the review. Review Methods: Inclusion criteria: Only studies whose focus was on caregivers’ knowledge, attitude and practice relating to diarrhoea in children under five were included. Also, only publications reported in the English Language were considered, and publications must have been between 2010-2020. Additionally, the methodological quality of studies was assessed using the Down & Black (1998) checklist for quality evaluation in a systematic review. Results: In this review, it emerged that studies in Sub-Saharan Africa indicate that caregivers display poor overall knowledge about diarrhoea. Also, the attitudes of caregivers towards diarrhoea prevention and treatment was low in many studies. On care practices, prevention practices, and management/treatment practices, including ORS and Zinc usage, were mainly reported to be quiet. Conclusions: The review concluded that there are poor levels of knowledge, attitude and practice of managing diarrhoea among caregivers of children under five (5) years of age in sub-Saharan Africa. The researchers recommended continuous health education to address knowledge gaps of mothers about diarrhoea, its prevention and treatment according to international standards.

Background/Aims Neonatal mortality remains a global challenge. In Ghana, neonatal mortality accounts for up to 50% of child mortality. A better understanding of the neonatal outcomes of obstetrics complications could contribute to context-specific evidence-based care to prevent neonatal deaths. This study aimed to describe the relationship between poor neonatal outcomes and obstetric complications in a tertiary health facility in the north of Ghana. Methods This was a cross-sectional quantitative study conducted at a tertiary health facility in northern Ghana. Purposive convenience sampling was used to select 384 mothers who experienced obstetric complications. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data on the participants' neonatal health outcomes. The chi-square test was performed to determine the relationship between neonatal health outcomes and obstetric complications, with significance set at P<0.05. Results A total of 20 obstetric complications were recorded. Overall, 327 participants had a single complication. The three most common obstetric complications resulting in adverse neonatal outcomes were obstructed labour (56.0%), pregnancy-induced hypertension (14.6%) and postpartum haemorrhage (11.6%). The majority (66.7%) of the neonates were healthy at birth, with 21.9% and 11.5% being sick or stillborn respectively. Obstetric complications were significantly associated with both neonatal morbidities and mortalities at P<0.000. Conclusions Preventable maternal obstetric complications continue to cause adverse neonatal outcomes in health facilities in Ghana. Appraisal of maternal and newborn care practices may be necessary to understand context-specific factors.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess preconception knowledge and practices and its effect on birth outcomes among puerperal women in the Tamale Teaching Hospital.Methodology: The study employed analytic cross-sectional study design with a quantitative approach. A semi-structured questionnaire was used where questions on knowledge of preconception were adopted from Southampton Women’s Survey, 2006. Puerperal women in the postnatal unit of the Tamale Teaching Hospital, who were yet to be discharged, including referred cases, were selected as target population for this study. The exclusion criteria were women who have never delivered and menopausal women. The sample size was 363 puerperal women. Purposive sampling method was used to attain the required sample. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 25. In the analyses, a p-value<0.05 was considered statistically significant when variables were cross-tabulated.Findings: The results of the study revealed a high proportion of puerperal women 161 (44.3%) were above 30 years. The mean age was 30.56±6.44 years. The study found that 37.2% women had knowledge on preconception care. There was a significant association between folic acid intake and postpartum haemorrhage (r=-0.183, p<0.0001). There was no statistical association between birth outcomes and concurrent loss of pregnancy and number of pregnancies lost except for birth weight (r=0.202, p=0.000). Albeit preconception care knowledge was low among puerperal women, it significantly influenced postpartum haemorrhage and pregnancy induced hypertension but not antepartum hemorrhage and birth weight.Recommendation: At the community level the study recommended to the Ghana Health Service that a mother-to-mother support group be formed among women in their reproductive age and this could help encourage one another to discuss about their health before pregnancy and share success stories on birth outcomes and report to the facility in case of any problems.