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Abstract Background Cervical cancer is one of the leading causes of death in women worldwide. The majority of the cases are found in developing countries. The increasing risk of cervical cancer prevalence and growing danger of death from cervical cancer and the high occurrence of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in women who are HIV positive give us the ground to study the prevalence and associated risk factors. Objective The study aims to assess the prevalence of cervical cancer screening and associated risk factors among HIV-positive women attending the Adult ART clinic at the University of Gondar Hospital. Methods An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted from March to August 2021, on adult HIV-positive women attending the Adult ART clinic at Gondar University Referral Hospital by phone calling patients per week for six months to complete a total of 2744 HIV-positive patients who were not screened for cervical cancer before. The data were collected using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to determine the presence and the degree of association between dependent and independent variables. In the multivariable logistic analysis, a P-value of

BackgroundPostpartum depression (PPD) is a non-psychotic depressive disorder of variable severity, and it can begin as early as 2 weeks after delivery and can persist indefinitely if left untreated. In Ethiopia, the prevalence of postpartum depression is high. There is a dearth of literature to determine factors associated with postpartum depression in Ethiopia, specifically in the study area.ObjectiveThis study aimed to identify factors associated with postpartum depression among mothers in Debre Tabor Town, Northcentral Ethiopia.MethodA community-based unmatched case-control study was conducted among mothers who were living in Debre Tabor Town and fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Postpartum mothers were selected using a simple random sampling technique from the listed sampling frame at the health center. Then, the sample cases and controls were interviewed until the sample size was fulfilled by using a consecutive sampling method. The data were entered into the EPI data version 4.6 and then imported and analyzed using SPSS version 25. Descriptive statistics of different variables were done by cross-tabulation. Binary logistic regression was used to assess the determinant factors with the outcome variable. A P-value of < 0.05 was considered to declare statistical significance.ResultsA total of 308 postnatal mothers living in Debre Tabor Town were included, with a 97.5% response rate. History of substance use in the previous 3 months (AOR: 6.47, 95% CI; 2.61, 15.74), current baby illness (AOR: 3.9, 95% CI; 1.5, 10.12), marital dissatisfaction (AOR: 2.41, 95% CI; 1.22, 4.75), unplanned current pregnancy (AOR: 3.46, 95% CI; 1.32, 9.12), and breastfeeding (AOR: 0.22, 95% CI; 0.09, 0.55) were independent factors that affected the occurrence of PPD.ConclusionThis study revealed that a recent history of substance use (in the past 3 months), current baby illness, marital satisfaction, unplanned current pregnancy, and breastfeeding were associated with postpartum depression. Healthcare providers working in maternal and child health clinics and health extension workers should give special attention to postpartum mothers who have had a history of substance use, current baby illness, unplanned pregnancy, non-breastfeeding mothers, and mothers with poor marital satisfaction.

Abstract Background More than one third of the neonatal deaths at Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in Debre Tabor General Hospital (DTGH) are attributable to birth asphyxia. Most of these neonates are referred from the maternity ward in the hospital. Concerns have also been raised regarding delayed intrapartum decisions for emergency obstetrics action in the hospital. However, there has been no recent scientific evidence about the exact burden of birth asphyxia and its specific determinants among live births at maternity ward of DTGH. Moreover, the public health importance of delivery time and professional mix of labor attendants haven’t been addressed in the prior studies. Methods Hospital based cross sectional study was conducted on a sample of 582 mother newborn dyads at maternity ward. Every other mother newborn dyad was included from December 2019 to March 2020. Pre-tested structured questionnaire and checklist were used for data collection. The collected data were processed and entered into Epidata version 4.2 and exported to Stata version 14. Binary logistic regressions were fitted and statistical significance was declared at p less than 0.05 with 95% CI. Results The prevalence of birth asphyxia was 28.35% [95% CI: 26.51, 35.24%]. From the final model, fetal mal-presentation (AOR = 6.96: 3.16, 15.30), premature rupture of fetal membranes (AOR = 6.30, 95% CI: 2.45, 16.22), meconium stained amniotic fluid (AOR = 7.15: 3.07, 16.66), vacuum delivery (AOR =6.21: 2.62, 14.73), night time delivery (AOR = 6.01: 2.82, 12.79) and labor attendance by medical interns alone (AOR = 3.32:1.13, 9.78) were positively associated with birth asphyxia at 95% CI. Conclusions The prevalence of birth asphyxia has remained a problem of public health importance in the study setting. Therefore, the existing efforts of emergency obstetric and newborn care should be strengthened to prevent birth asphyxia from the complications of fetal mal-presentation, premature rupture of fetal membranes, meconium stained amniotic fluid and vacuum delivery. Moreover, night time deliveries and professional mixes of labor and/delivery care providers should be given more due emphasis.

Abstract Background Domestic violence during pregnancy with its many negative fetal and maternal outcomes is a common public health problem all over the world. Nonetheless, the problem is not well investigated and understood in Ethiopia. Hence, this study aimed to assess the prevalence of domestic violence and associated factors among pregnant women attending the University of Gondar Referral Hospital antenatal care (ANC) services. Methods A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted from March–May 2016. A total of 450 pregnant women who visited the clinic were included in the study. A systematic random sampling technique was used to select study participants, and a pretested structured questionnaire was employed to collect data. The WHO multi-country study on women’s health and domestic violence against women was used to assess the violence against pregnant women. Descriptive statistics such as means, frequencies and percentages were computed. A multivariable logistic regression analysis was carried out to identify factors associated with domestic violence, and variables with p-values

Background. Syphilis is a disease caused by bacteria called Treponema pallidum. Major rout of transmission of this bacterium was through sexual and contact with mucocutaneous lesion. Untreated syphilis during pregnancy can greatly affect pregnancy outcome, resulting in spontaneous abortion and stillbirth. Objective. The objective of the study was to determine the seroprevalence of syphilis and associated factors among pregnant women attending antenatal care unit at Sede Muja district, Northern Ethiopia. Methods and Materials. Facility based cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2018 to January 2019 in two health centers from Sede Muja district, Northwest Ethiopia. The study included a total of 210 participants. The entire participants were recruited by systematic random sampling method after proportional allocation of the sample size in the two health centers. Sociodemographic and clinical data were collected by semistructured questioner. Two milliliter of blood was collected to determine seroprevalence of syphilis using VDRL test method. The data was analyzed by using SPSS version 21. The association between independent and dependent variables was determined using chi-square. P-value less than 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Result. Seroprevalence of syphilis was found to be 1.9% (95 CI, 0.5-3.5%). Women with multiple sexual partners and late trimester of pregnancy during first ANC visit were found to be significantly associated with seropositive syphilis. Conclusion. Syphilis remains a major problem in the study area. Seroprevalence of syphilis was significantly associated with women who have multiple sexual partners and late first ANC visit attendees in the study area. Therefore it is recommended to give health education about syphilis etiology and transmission as well as creating awareness about the importance of early ANC visit and follow-up regarding syphilis prevention.

Abstract Background Age at menarche is the reflection of cumulative pre-adolescent exposure of girls to either adverse environment such as food insecurity or affluent living conditions. Food insecurity could result in inadequate nutrient intake and stress, both of which are hypothesized to have opposing effects on the timing of menarche through divergent pathways. It is not known whether food insecure girls have delayed menarche or early menarche compared with their food secure peers. In this study we test the competing hypothesis of the relationship between food insecurity and age at menarche among adolescent girls in the Southwest Ethiopia. Methods We report on 900 girls who were investigated in the first two rounds of the five year longitudinal survey. The semi-parametric frailty model was fitted to determine the effect of adolescent food insecurity on time to menarche after adjusting for socio-demographic and economic variables. Results Food insecure girls have menarche one year later than their food secure peer (median age of 15 years vs 14 years). The hazard of menarche showed a significant decline (P = 0.019) as severity of food insecurity level increased, the hazard ratio (HR) for mild food insecurity and moderate/severe food insecurity were 0.936 and 0.496, respectively compared to food secure girls. Stunted girls had menarche nearly one year later than their non-stunted peers (HR = 0.551, P < 0.001). Conclusion Food insecurity is associated with delay of age at menarche by one year among girls in the study area. Stunted girls had menarche one year later than their non-stunted peers. Age at menarche reflects the development of girls including the timing of sexual maturation, nutritional status and trajectory of growth during the pre-pubertal periods. The findings reflect the consequence of chronic food insecurity on the development and well-being of girls in the study area.