Background: Evidence on anemia and associated factors among young adolescent girls and boys in rural western China is limited. Methods: We used data from a follow-up study of adolescents (10–14 years) born to women who participated in a randomized trial of antenatal micronutrient supplementation in western China. Anemia was defined by World Health Organization standards. Logistic regression was used to examine the factors associated with anemia. Results: The overall prevalence of anemia was 11.7% (178/1517). Female adolescents were 1.73 (95% CI 1.21, 2.48) times more likely to have anemia as compared to males. Adolescents whose mothers had completed high school were 0.35 (95% CI 0.13, 0.93) times less likely to be anemic, compared to those of whom had < 3 years of formal education. Household wealth was also inversely associated with anemia. The association of puberty status with anemia was modified by adolescent sex (P-value for interaction was 0.04); males with greater than mild pubertal development had reduced odds (OR 0.35, 95% CI 0.15, 0.83) of anemia while there was no association among females (OR 0.72, 95% CI 0.29, 1.78). Consumption of flesh foods (OR 0.58, 95% CI 0.38, 0.89), eggs (OR 0.60, 95% CI 0.38, 0.93), and having a meal frequency of three times or more per day (OR 0.68, 95% CI 0.48, 0.96) were also associated with a lower likelihood of anemia. Conclusions: Anemia was a mild public health problem among young adolescents in rural western China. Nutritional and social determinants were identified as predictors, warranting interventions to reduce the risk of anemia among this critical age group.

Objective: To explore the factors associated with antenatal care (ANC) visits. Design: A secondary data analysis from cross-sectional studies was conducted. Setting: Sub-Saharan Africa. Participants: 56 002 women aged 15–49 years in Ghana (3224), Kenya (10 981), Malawi (9541), Namibia (2286), Rwanda (4416), Senegal (6552), Tanzania (5536), Uganda (7979) and Zambia (5487) were analysed. Outcomes: 4 ⁺ ANC visits. Results: Overall, 55.52% (95% CI: 55.11% to 55.93%) of women made 4 ⁺ ANC visits. The highest 4 ⁺ ANC visits were in Ghana (85.6%) and Namibia (78.9%), and the lowest were in Senegal (45.3%) and Rwanda (44.5%). Young women 15–19 years had the lowest uptake of 4 ⁺ ANC visits. Multivariable analysis indicated that the odds of 4 ⁺ ANC visits were 14% lower among women from rural areas compared with those living in towns (adjusted OR (AOR) 0.86; 95% CI: 0.81 to 0.91). This difference was significant in Kenya, Malawi, Senegal and Zambia. However, in Zambia, the odds of 4 ⁺ ANC visits were 48% higher (AOR 1.48; 95% CI: 1.2 to 1.82) among women from rural compared with urban areas. Women with higher educational level had more than twofold higher odds of 4 ⁺ ANC visits in seven of the nine countries, and was significant in Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda and Zambia. Compared with the poorest household wealth category, odds of 4 ⁺ ANC visits increased by 12%, 18%, 32% and 41% for every 20% variation on the wealth quantile. Women in their first-time pregnancy had higher odds of 4 ⁺ ANC visits compared with others across all countries, and women who had access to media at least once a week had a 22% higher probability of 4 ⁺ ANC visits than women who had no access to media (AOR 1.22, 95% CI: 1.15 to 1.29). Conclusion: The number of ANC visits was considered to be inadequate with substantial variation among the studied countries. Comprehensive interventions on scaling uptake of ANC are needed among the low-performing countries. Particular attention should be given to women of low economic status and from rural areas.

Background: Antenatal care (ANC) is a recommended intervention to lessen maternal and neonatal mortality. The increased rate in ANC coverage in most Sub-Saharan African countries is not considerably reducing the maternal and neonatal mortality. This disconnection has raised concerns to study further the trend and determinants of the ANC timing and quality. We aimed to assess the determinants and trend of the timing, the adequacy and the quality of antenatal care in Rwanda. Method: A population-based cross-sectional study design. We used data from the 2010,2015 and 2020 Rwanda demographic and health surveys (RDHS). The study included 18,034 women aged 15–49 years. High quality ANC is when a woman had her first ANC visit within 3 months of pregnancy, had 4 or more ANC visits, received services components of ANC during the visits by a skilled provider. Bivariate analysis and multivariable logistic regression were used to assess the ANC (timing and adequacy), the quality of the content of ANC services and the associated factors. Results: The uptake of antenatal services increased in the last 15 years. For instance, the uptake of adequate ANC was 2219(36.16%), 2607(44.37%) and 2925(48.58%) respectively for 2010;2015 and 2020 RDHS. The uptake of high quality ANC from 205(3.48%) in 2010 through 510(9.47%) in 2015 to 779(14.99%) in 2020. Women with unwanted pregnancies were less likely to have timely first ANC (aOR:0.76;95%CI:0.68,0.85) compared to planned pregnancies, they were also less likely to achieve a high-quality ANC (aOR: 0.65;95%CI:0.51,0.82) compared to the planned pregnancies. Mothers with a secondary and higher education were 1.5 more likely to achieve a high-quality ANC (aOR:1.50;95%CI:1.15,1.96) compared to uneducated mothers. Increasing maternal age is associated with reduced odds of update of ANC component services (aOR:0.44;95%CI:0.25,0.77) for 40 years and above when referred to teen mothers). Conclusion: Low-educated mothers, advanced maternal age, and unintended pregnancies are the vulnerable groups that need to be targeted in order to improve ANC-related indicators. One of the credible measures to close the gap is to strengthen health education, promote family planning, and promote service utilization.

Two hundred fifty million children in low- and middle-income countries are at risk for intellectual impairment.¹ Nutrition plays a key role in the structural and functional development of the human brain from conception to adolescence. In countries where micronutrient deficiencies are common,² the inability to fulfill the increased requirements for micronutrients during pregnancy is potentially adverse to child development.^2,3

Background: Low birth weight (LBW) is an important factor influencing infant morbidity and mortality. Pregnant women should receive a variety of interventions during antenatal care (ANC) that are crucial in improving birth weight. ANC visits alone do not promise that women have received all recommended antenatal services. However, there are limited evidence of the relationship between ANC quality and LBW in Rwanda. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the association between quality ANC and LBW along with the factors influencing LBW and how quality ANC affects LBW in Rwandan pregnant women. Methods: The Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) are cross-sectional, nationally representative household surveys that collect population, health, and nutrition. In this Study we used three waves of Rwanda Demographic and Health Surveys 2010,2014-5 and 2019-20. A total of 16,144 women aged 15 to 49 years who had live births in the five years preceding each survey were included in this study. A stratified two-stage sampling methods was used to select the participants. The first stage involves selecting clusters (villages) from a list of all clusters in the country. The second stage involves selecting households within each cluster. A survey adjusted for clusters at multiple level and a bivariate and multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate adjusted odds ratios(aOR) and 95% confidence intervals to assess the association between the outcome and independent variables. Results: The utilization of a high-quality ANC increased slightly over the three survey years and LBW had a slow decline. Out of 5813 women;201(3.45%) had high-quality ANC in the 2010 survey, and out of 5813 newborns,180(3.10%) were LBW. Out of 5404 women;492(9.11%) had high-quality ANC in 2015, and out of 5404 newborns,151(2.79% were LBW). Out of 5203 women,776(14.92%) had high-quality ANC in the 2020 survey year, and out of the 5206 newborns,139(2.67%) were LBW. In multivariable analysis, at a borderline limit high quality ANC was negatively associated with LBW(aOR:0.67;95%CI:0.43,1.05) compared to low-quality ANC. Higher birth orders of the newborn were negatively associated with LBW (aOR:0.63;95%CI:0.49,0.82 and aOR:0.44;95%CI:0.32,0.61 for 2nd -3rd and 4th and above respectively) compared to 1st orders newborn. Newborns from rich households were less likely to experience LBW than those from poor households (aOR:0.71;95%CI:0.55,0.91). Female newborns were associated with an increase of LBW (aOR:1.43;95% CI:1.18,1.73) than male newborns. Conclusion: The findings confirm the fundamental importance of a high-quality ANC on LBW. The findings could be utilized to develop monitoring strategies and assess pregnancy health assistance programs with a focus on LBW reduction.

Background: Mortality at a young age is key to public health measures. This study aims to describe the burden, trend, and associated factors of under-five mortality rate (U5MR) in Zambia from 2007-to-2018. Method: A sample of 29,274 children under-five were analyzed from the Zambia demographic and health survey (ZDHS). Univariate and bivariate analysis were used to identify factors influencing U5M. Result: Pooled prevalence of U5MR in Zambia was 84.4/ 1000 live-births. Over 15 years, U5M has declined by 49% (from 118.7 to 60.5/1000 live-births). Compared to children of teenage (≤19 years) mothers the likelihood of U5M was lower by 24 to 37% among children of 20 to 34 years old mothers. The likelihood of U5M was lower by 23% (AOR, 0.77 95%CI, 0.58–1.04) for poorest, 27% (AOR, 0.73 95%CI, 0.55–0.98) for poorer, and 19% (AOR, 0.81 95%CI, 0.62–1.07) for middle as compared to the richest households. The likelihood of U5M was 21% (AOR, 0.79 95%CI, 0.67–0.93) lower among rural residents. Multiple-born children died 2.54 times (95%CI, 1.95–3.98) higher than the single-born. Male children (AOR, 1.28, 95% CI, 1.23–1.46), smaller than average birth size (AOR, 1.78; 95% CI, 1.52–2.09), and no ANC visit (AOR, 3.17, 95% CI, 2.74–3.67) were associated with U5M. The likelihoods of U5M were significantly higher in the Eastern, Luapula, and Muchinga regions than in the Central. Conclusion: This study revealed that Zambia has made a gain on child survival. Further efforts targeting mothers, children, and provinces are needed to scale up the decline and achieve the SDG3.