Determinants of Uterine Rupture and Its Management Outcomes among Mothers Who Gave Birth at Public Hospitals of Tigrai, North Ethiopia: An Unmatched Case Control Study.

INTRODUCTION: Uterine rupture is a leading cause of maternal death in Ethiopia. Despite strengthening the health care system and providing basic and comprehensive emergency obstetric care closer to the communities, uterine rupture continues to produce devastating maternal and fetal outcomes. Although risk factors of uterine rupture are context specific, there is lack of clarity in our context towards the contributing factors and untoward outcomes of uterine rupture. This study was conducted to identify the risk factors of uterine rupture and its impacts in public hospitals of Tigrai. OBJECTIVE: This study would identify determinant factors of uterine rupture and its management outcomes among mothers who gave birth in public hospitals in Tigrai region, North Ethiopia. METHOD: A retrospective hospital-based unmatched case control study design was implemented with 135 cases of women with uterine rupture and 270 controls of women without uterine rupture. Cases were enrolled consecutively from case notes of women who gave birth from 1/9/2015 to 30/6/2019, while charts (case note) of women without uterine rupture found following the cases were selected randomly and enrolled. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression with 95% confidence interval was used to identify the determinants of uterine rupture. RESULT: Mothers referred from remote health institutions (AOR 7.29 (95% CI: 2.7, 19.68)), mothers who visited once for antenatal care (AOR 2.85 (95% CI: 1.02, 7.94)), those experiencing obstructed labor (AOR 13.33 (95% CI: 4.23, 42.05)), and birth weight of a newborn greater than four kilograms (AOR 5.68 (95% CI: 1.39, 23.2)) were significantly associated with uterine rupture. From 135 mothers who develop uterine rupture, 13 (9.6%) mothers died and 101 (74.8%) fetuses were stillborn. Obstetrical complications like abdominal hysterectomy in 75 (55.6%) of mothers and excessive blood loss in 84 (57.8%) were additional untoward outcomes of uterine rupture. CONCLUSION: Referrals from remote health institutions, once-visited antenatal care, obstructed labor, and birth weight of newborns greater than four kilograms were significant determinants of uterine rupture. Maternal death, stillbirth, hysterectomy, and hemorrhage were adverse outcomes. The findings of this study suggest early identification of factors that expose to uterine rupture during antenatal care, labor, and delivery must be attended to and further prospective studies are needed to explore predictors of untoward outcomes. Knowing the determinants of uterine rupture helps prevent the occurrence of a problem in pregnant women, which reduces maternal morbidity and mortality, and would have a tremendous help in identifying the best optional strategies in our current practices. This assertion was added to the abstract concluding session.

Burden and Determinant of Inadequate Dietary Diversity among Pregnant Women in Ethiopia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Inadequate dietary diversity intake during pregnancy results in increased risks of negative maternal and perinatal outcomes. About one million neonates die on the first day of life due to inadequate dietary intake during pregnancy as a result of maternal complication and adverse birth outcomes. This review summarizes the burden of inadequate dietary diversity and its determinants among pregnant women at the national level of Ethiopia. METHODS: Studies were retrieved from selected electronic databases, including PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar. Random-effects model meta-analysis was used to estimate the pooled burden of inadequate dietary diversity and its determinants at a 95% confidence interval with its respective odds ratio (OR) using statistical R-software version 3.6.1. Moreover, quality appraisal of the included studies, publication bias, and level of heterogeneity were checked with subgroup analysis and sensitivity influential test. The searches were restricted to articles published in the English language only, and Medical Subject Headings (MeSH terms) was used to help expand the search in advanced PubMed search. RESULT: A total of 850 articles were identified through the initial search of which 21 studies were included in the final review yielding a total sample size of 9,230 pregnant women. The pooled prevalence of inadequate dietary diversity was 53% (95% CI: 44%, 62%). Food insecurity [AOR = 2.18, (95% CI: 1.02, 4.63)], family size of greater than four [AOR = 1.46, (95% CI: 1.10, 1.95)], rural residence [AOR = 4.52, (95% CI: 1.02, 20.09)], no formal educational status [AOR = 4.50, (95% CI: 1.02, 20.09)], and a lack of counseling about dietary diversity [AOR = 2.75, (95% CI: 2.17, 3.48)] were among the significantly associated factors for inadequate dietary diversity. CONCLUSION: In this review, there was a high prevalence of inadequate dietary diversity among pregnant women at the national level in Ethiopia. Therefore, strengthening early counseling and diagnosis of dietary intake and undernutrition during the antenatal care period is important.