Proximate and distant determinants of maternal and neonatal mortality in the postnatal period: A scoping review of data from low- and middle-income countries.

Global maternal and neonatal mortality rates remain unacceptably high. The postnatal period, encompassing the first hour of life until 42 days, is critical for mother-baby dyads, yet postnatal care (PNC) coverage is low. Identifying mother-baby dyads at increased risk for adverse outcomes is critica...

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Main Authors: Preston Izulla, Angela Muriuki, Michael Kiragu, Melanie Yahner, Virginia Fonner, Syeda Nabin Ara Nitu, Bernard Osir, Farahat Bello, Joseph de Graft-Johnson
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2023-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0293479&type=printable
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author Preston Izulla
Angela Muriuki
Michael Kiragu
Melanie Yahner
Virginia Fonner
Syeda Nabin Ara Nitu
Bernard Osir
Farahat Bello
Joseph de Graft-Johnson
author_facet Preston Izulla
Angela Muriuki
Michael Kiragu
Melanie Yahner
Virginia Fonner
Syeda Nabin Ara Nitu
Bernard Osir
Farahat Bello
Joseph de Graft-Johnson
author_sort Preston Izulla
collection DOAJ
description Global maternal and neonatal mortality rates remain unacceptably high. The postnatal period, encompassing the first hour of life until 42 days, is critical for mother-baby dyads, yet postnatal care (PNC) coverage is low. Identifying mother-baby dyads at increased risk for adverse outcomes is critical. Yet few efforts have synthesized research on proximate and distant factors associated with maternal and neonatal mortality during the postnatal period. This scoping review identified proximate and distant factors associated with maternal and neonatal mortality during the postnatal period within low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). A rigorous, systematic search of four electronic databases was undertaken to identify studies published within the last 11 years containing data on risk factors among nationally representative samples. Results were synthesized narratively. Seventy-nine studies were included. Five papers examined maternal mortality, one focused on maternal and neonatal mortality, and the rest focused on neonatal mortality. Regarding proximate factors, maternal age, parity, birth interval, birth order/rank, neonate sex, birth weight, multiple-gestation, previous history of child death, and lack of or inadequate antenatal care visits were associated with increased neonatal mortality risk. Distant factors for neonatal mortality included low levels of parental education, parental employment, rural residence, low household income, solid fuel use, and lack of clean water. This review identified risk factors that could be applied to identify mother-baby dyads with increased mortality risk for targeted PNC. Given risks inherent in pregnancy and childbirth, adverse outcomes can occur among dyads without obvious risk factors; providing timely PNC to all is critical. Efforts to reduce the prevalence of risk factors could improve maternal and newborn outcomes. Few studies exploring maternal mortality risk factors were available; investments in population-based studies to identify factors associated with maternal mortality are needed. Harmonizing categorization of factors (e.g., age, education) is a gap for future research.
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spelling doaj-art-07aac57c312246b3b6ace8a26e1c965f2025-02-05T05:32:34ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032023-01-011811e029347910.1371/journal.pone.0293479Proximate and distant determinants of maternal and neonatal mortality in the postnatal period: A scoping review of data from low- and middle-income countries.Preston IzullaAngela MuriukiMichael KiraguMelanie YahnerVirginia FonnerSyeda Nabin Ara NituBernard OsirFarahat BelloJoseph de Graft-JohnsonGlobal maternal and neonatal mortality rates remain unacceptably high. The postnatal period, encompassing the first hour of life until 42 days, is critical for mother-baby dyads, yet postnatal care (PNC) coverage is low. Identifying mother-baby dyads at increased risk for adverse outcomes is critical. Yet few efforts have synthesized research on proximate and distant factors associated with maternal and neonatal mortality during the postnatal period. This scoping review identified proximate and distant factors associated with maternal and neonatal mortality during the postnatal period within low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). A rigorous, systematic search of four electronic databases was undertaken to identify studies published within the last 11 years containing data on risk factors among nationally representative samples. Results were synthesized narratively. Seventy-nine studies were included. Five papers examined maternal mortality, one focused on maternal and neonatal mortality, and the rest focused on neonatal mortality. Regarding proximate factors, maternal age, parity, birth interval, birth order/rank, neonate sex, birth weight, multiple-gestation, previous history of child death, and lack of or inadequate antenatal care visits were associated with increased neonatal mortality risk. Distant factors for neonatal mortality included low levels of parental education, parental employment, rural residence, low household income, solid fuel use, and lack of clean water. This review identified risk factors that could be applied to identify mother-baby dyads with increased mortality risk for targeted PNC. Given risks inherent in pregnancy and childbirth, adverse outcomes can occur among dyads without obvious risk factors; providing timely PNC to all is critical. Efforts to reduce the prevalence of risk factors could improve maternal and newborn outcomes. Few studies exploring maternal mortality risk factors were available; investments in population-based studies to identify factors associated with maternal mortality are needed. Harmonizing categorization of factors (e.g., age, education) is a gap for future research.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0293479&type=printable
spellingShingle Preston Izulla
Angela Muriuki
Michael Kiragu
Melanie Yahner
Virginia Fonner
Syeda Nabin Ara Nitu
Bernard Osir
Farahat Bello
Joseph de Graft-Johnson
Proximate and distant determinants of maternal and neonatal mortality in the postnatal period: A scoping review of data from low- and middle-income countries.
PLoS ONE
title Proximate and distant determinants of maternal and neonatal mortality in the postnatal period: A scoping review of data from low- and middle-income countries.
title_full Proximate and distant determinants of maternal and neonatal mortality in the postnatal period: A scoping review of data from low- and middle-income countries.
title_fullStr Proximate and distant determinants of maternal and neonatal mortality in the postnatal period: A scoping review of data from low- and middle-income countries.
title_full_unstemmed Proximate and distant determinants of maternal and neonatal mortality in the postnatal period: A scoping review of data from low- and middle-income countries.
title_short Proximate and distant determinants of maternal and neonatal mortality in the postnatal period: A scoping review of data from low- and middle-income countries.
title_sort proximate and distant determinants of maternal and neonatal mortality in the postnatal period a scoping review of data from low and middle income countries
url https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0293479&type=printable
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