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Background: Many health risks in pregnant women and their foetuses can be reduced by practicing antenatal exercise. However, the adequate practice of antenatal exercise among pregnant women is low in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the practice of antenatal exercise and its associated factors among pregnant women in Arba Minch town. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study design was conducted. Data were collected by using a structured questionnaire from 422 pregnant women selected by a simple random sampling technique. Descriptive statistics were computed and a binary logistic regression model was fitted. In multivariable logistic-regression adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with 95% confidence intervals were used to determine the strength of associations. The significance level was declared at a p-value < 0.05. Results: Among 410 participants, 32.9% (95% CI 28%-37%) adequately practiced antenatal exercise. Factors negatively associated with an adequate antenatal exercise were husband's primary school level [Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 0.3, (95% CI: 0.1, 0.7)], history of miscarriage [AOR = 0.3, (95% CI: 0.1, 0.7)], inadequate knowledge [AOR = 0.2, (95% CI: 0.1, 0.3)], and unfavorable attitude [AOR = 0.3, (95% CI 0.2, 0.5)]. Whereas, factors positively associated with an adequate antenatal exercise were employment status of women [AOR = 4.8, (95% CI: 1.8, 13.1)], and a practice of regular exercise before current pregnancy [AOR = 1.9, (95% CI: 1.1, 3.2)]. Conclusions: The findings of this study indicated that adequate practice of antenatal exercise was found to be low. Appropriate measures should be taken to improve the husband's educational level, mother's occupation, knowledge, and attitudes towards antenatal exercise. Special consideration should be given to those with a history of miscarriage and women should be encouraged to practice regular exercise before pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Disrespect and abuse of women during childbirth is one of the deterring factors to skilled childbirth utilization, especially in low and middle-income countries. Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of women’s disrespect and abuse during childbirth in public health facilities in Arba Minch town, south Ethiopia. Methods: Institution-based cross-sectional study design was employed at all public health institutions in Arba Minch town, south Ethiopia. A systematic random sampling method was used to include 281 women who had given birth at public health institutions between January 01 and February 28, 2017. Data were collected through face to face interview by four data collectors and they were supervised by the principal investigator during the entire period of data collection. A semi-structured pretested questionnaire was used to collect the data. Epi info version 7.1.2.0 and SPSS version 24 were used to enter and analyze the data, respectively. Results: The overall prevalence of non-respectful care was 98.9%. The women’s right to information and informed consent was the most frequently violated right with a prevalence of 92.5% (95% CI: 90.9, 94.1) followed by non-dignified care (36.7, 95% CI: 34.9, 38.5), physical abuse (29.5%, 95% CI: 24.2, 34.8), discrimination (18.1%, 95% CI: 13.6, 22.6), non-confidential care (17.1%, 95% CI: 12.7, 21.5) and abandonment of care (4.3%, 95% CI: 3.1, 5.5). Rural residence, giving birth in the hospital, having no or low educational status and giving birth by cesarean route were factors significantly associated with specific women’s rights violations. Conclusions and recommendations: The prevalence of women’s disrespect and abuse during childbirth at the health care facilities in this study area is very high. Therefore, health managers need to work hard to tackle the problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]