Brazil

Women’s empowerment related to pregnancy and childbirth: introduction to special issue

Ndola Prata
Paula Tavrow
Ushma Upadhyay
2017

Empowerment is widely acknowledged as a process by which those who have been disempowered are able to increase their self-efficacy, make life-enhancing decisions, and obtain control over resources [1,2,...

“My job is to get pregnant women to the hospital”: a qualitative study of the role of traditional birth attendants in the distribution of misoprostol to prevent post-partum haemorrhage in two provinces in Mozambique

Ndola Prata
Karen Hobday
Jennifer Hulme
Caroline Homer
Páscoa Zualo Wate
Suzanne Belton
2018

Background: Post-partum haemorrhage is the leading cause of maternal deaths in Mozambique. In 2015, the Mozambican Ministry of Health launched the National Strategy for the Prevention of Post-Partum Haemorrhage at the Community Level. The strategy included the distribution of misoprostol to women in advance at antenatal care and via Traditional Birth Attendants who directly administer the medication. The study explores the role of Traditional Birth Attendants in the misoprostol program and the views of women who used misoprostol to prevent post-partum haemorrhage.

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Scaling Up Misoprostol to Prevent Postpartum Hemorrhage at Home Births in Mozambique: A Case Study Applying the ExpandNet/WHO Framework

Karen Hobday
Jennifer Hulme
Ndola Prata
Páscoa Zualo Wate
Suzanne Belton
Caroline Homer
2019

Background: Mozambique has a high maternal mortality ratio, and postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) is a leading cause of maternal deaths. In 2015, the Mozambican Ministry of Health (MOH) commenced a program to distribute misoprostol at the community level in selected districts as a strategy to reduce PPH. This case study uses the ExpandNet/World Health Organization (WHO) scale-up framework to examine the planning, management, and outcomes of the early expansion phase of the scale-up of misoprostol for the prevention of PPH in 2 provinces in Mozambique.

Methods:...

Preventing post-partum haemorrhage at home during COVID-19: what are we waiting for?

Karen Hobday
Ndola Prata
Jennifer Hulme
Caroline SE Homer
2021

Disruptions in health service delivery due to the COVID-19 pandemic have had a devastating effect on maternal, neonatal, and child health (MNCH) with rises in maternal and neonatal deaths expected.1 Post-partum haemorrhage is the leading cause of maternal mortality in low-income countries and is likely to increase because of estimates of, at best, a 10% reduction in MNCH services....

The intersection of traumatic childbirth and obstetric racism: A qualitative study

Amelia Dmowska
Priya Fielding-Singh
Jodi Halpern
Ndola Prata
2024

Background: Traumatic childbirth experiences are common in the United States - affecting a third to a fourth of mothers - with significant negative impacts on maternal health. Yet most research on traumatic childbirth focuses on white mothers' experiences. Drawing on a racially and ethnically diverse sample of mothers who experienced traumatic childbirth, this exploratory qualitative study examined Black, Latina, and Asian mothers' traumatic birth experiences and the role of obstetric racism in shaping these experiences.

Methods: In-depth, semi-...

Maternal mortality due to abortion complications in forcibly displaced populations: A study protocol for a community-facility capture-recapture (CFCR) study

Blake Erhardt-Ohren
Dipika Paul
Anik Mahmud
Anika Tarannum
Karen Weidert
Altaf Hossain
Sayed Rubayet
Ndola Prata
2025

There is a paucity of research exploring abortion complication-related morbidity and mortality in humanitarian settings. The most recent data we have to understand the impact of global negligence on forcibly displaced persons’ reproductive health needs in humanitarian emergencies is from the 1999 United Nations Population Fund’s annual report, which estimated that 25-50% of maternal deaths in refugee settings were due to complications from unsafe abortion. This study will investigate maternal death surveillance and reporting (MDSR). The protocol will be implemented in a refugee setting:...

Climate education as adaptation: A scoping review of programs advancing maternal and newborn health

Cara Schulte
Blake Erhardt-Ohren
Yasmine Baker
Simone Gramling
Ndola Prata
2025
Abstract

Background: Climate change is a growing threat to maternal and newborn health (MNH). Alongside urgent emissions reductions, effective efforts to address climate-driven health disparities - both in MNH and more broadly - will require a stronger collective understanding of climate impacts on health. This will necessitate further investment not only in climate and health research, but also in climate and health education and literacy. Critically, the extent to which climate education can or is being used to advance MNH remains unknown.

Methods:...