Social and economic consequences of the cost of obstetric and neonatal care in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo: a mixed methods study.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to explore and measure the social and economic consequences of the costs of obstetric and neonatal care in Lubumbashi, the Democratic Republic of Congo. METHODS: We conducted a mixed qualitative and quantitative study in the maternity departments of health facilities in Lubumbashi. The qualitative results were based on a case study conducted in 2018 that included 14 respondents (8 mothers of newborns, 2 accompanying family members and 4 health care providers). A quantitative cross-sectional analytical study was carried out in 2019 with 411 women who gave birth at 10 referral hospitals. Data were collected for one month at each hospital, and selected mothers of newborns were included in the study only if they paid out-of-pocket and at the point of care for costs related to obstetric and neonatal care. RESULTS: Costs for obstetric and neonatal care averaged US $77, US $207 and US $338 for simple, complicated vaginal and caesarean deliveries, respectively. These health expenditures were greater than or equal to 40% of the ability to pay for 58.4% of households. At the time of delivery, 14.1% of women giving birth did not have enough money to pay for care. Of those who did, 76.5% spent their savings. When households did not pay for care, mothers and their babies were held for a long time at the place of care. This resulted in the prolonged absence of the mother from the household, reduced household income, family conflicts, and the abandonment of the home by the spouse. At the health facility level, the increase in length of stay did not generate any additional financial benefits. Mothers no longer had confidence in nurses; they were sometimes separated from their babies, and they could not access certain prescribed medications or treatments. CONCLUSION: The government of the DRC should implement a mechanism for subsidizing care and associate it with a cost-sharing system. This would place the country on the path to achieving universal health coverage in improving the physical, mental and social health of mothers, their babies and their households.

Birth Hospitalization Costs and Days of Care for Mothers and Neonates in California, 2009-2011.

OBJECTIVE: To provide population-based estimates of the hospital-related costs of maternal and newborn care, and how these vary by gestational age and birth weight. STUDY DESIGN: We conducted a retrospective analysis of 2009-2011 California in-hospital deliveries at nonfederal hospitals with the infant and maternal discharge data successfully (96%) linked to birth certificates. Cost-to-charge ratios were used to estimate costs from charges. Physician hospital payments were estimated by mean diagnosis related group-specific reimbursement and costs were adjusted for inflation to December 2017 values. After exclusions for incomplete or missing data, the final sample was 1 265 212. RESULTS: The mean maternal costs for all in-hospital deliveries was $8204, increasing to $13 154 for late preterm (32-36 weeks) and $22 702 for very preterm (<32 weeks) mothers. The mean cost for all newborns was $6389: $2433 for term infants, $22 102 for late preterm, $223 931 for very preterm infants, and $317 982 for extremely preterm infants (<28 weeks). Preterm infants were 8.1% of cases but incurred 60.9% of costs; for very preterm and extremely preterm infants, these shares were 1.0% and 36.5%, and 0.4% and 20.0%, respectively. Overall, mothers incurred 56% of the total costs during the delivery hospitalization. CONCLUSIONS: Both maternal and neonatal costs are skewed, with this being much more pronounced for infants. Preterm birth is much more expensive than term delivery, with the additional costs predominately incurred by the infants. The small share of infants who require extensive stays in neonatal intensive care incur a large share of neonatal costs and these costs have increased over time.

The impact of a history of poor mental health on health care costs in the perinatal period.

The perinatal period is a critical time for mental health and is also associated with high health care expenditure. Our previous work has identified a history of poor mental health as the strongest predictor of poor perinatal mental health. This study aims to examine the impact of a history of poor mental health on health care costs during the perinatal period. Data from the 1973-1978 cohort of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (ALSWH) were linked with a number of administrative datasets including the NSW Admitted Patient Data Collection and Perinatal Data Collection, the Medicare Benefits Scheme and the Pharmaceuticals Benefits Scheme between 2002 and 2011. Even when taking birth type and private health insurance status into account, a history of poor mental health resulted in an average increase of over 11% per birth across the perinatal period. These findings indicate that an investment in prevention and early treatment of poor mental health prior to child bearing may result in a cost saving in the perinatal period and a reduction of the incidence of women experiencing poor perinatal mental health.

Clinical decision analysis in perinatology.

Clinical decision-making in perinatology involves trade-offs between two intricately related individuals - mother and fetus. Decision-making in perinatology is challenging due to competing interests of the mother and the fetus. Although decision analytic methods are increasingly used to develop processes for clinical and cost-effectiveness analyses in perinatology, there are no guidelines on the conduct and reporting of decision analysis studies that takes into account the complexities of the mother-fetus dyad. This article describes the basics of decision analysis and highlights areas that require special consideration in the perinatal context. It emphasizes the importance of obtaining patient preferences related to combined maternal-fetal health states, stresses the relevance of both maternal and offspring health outcomes over appropriate time horizons, and explains challenges around the use of quality-adjusted life years as an outcome measure in perinatology. It also provides insight into the complexities of dyad status in clinical and cost-effectiveness analyses in perinatology.

Short and long-term costs among women experiencing preterm labour or preterm birth: the German experience.

BACKGROUND: Preterm labour and birth (PTL/PTB) is characterised by major health and developmental risks for children, life-changing consequences for their families, and substantial healthcare and economic challenges for wider society. While it is known that PTL/PTB impacts infant healthcare costs in the short and long term in Germany, maternal costs have not been described in detail. The aim of this study was to comprehensively describe costs and resource use among PTL/PTB mothers during pregnancy, at hospitalisation for delivery, and up to three years after delivery-overall and according to gestational age (GA) at delivery. METHODS: This study used data from the Statutory Health Insurance (SHI) sample of the AOK Hessen database in Germany. Mothers aged 12-44 years with deliveries between 2009 and 2013 and > 9 months of medical history prior to delivery were included. PTL/PTB mothers were defined by an International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10) code for PTL during pregnancy, a diagnosis-related group (DRG) code indicating birthweight < 2500 g, or delivery of an infant < 37 weeks GA. Inpatient and outpatient resource use and total direct medical costs were examined during pregnancy, at delivery hospitalisation, and up to three years post-delivery. RESULTS: Of all mothers, 2147 (20%) experienced PTL/PTB. During pregnancy, median costs for PTL/PTB mothers were €2130. During delivery hospitalisation, the mean length of stay for all PTL/PTB mothers was 6.0 days, and median costs were €2037. Length of stay and costs declined with increasing GA. Long term, PTL/PTB mothers' total median costs were €607 in Year 1, €332 in Year 2, and €388 in Year 3 post-delivery. In each year after delivery, median costs appeared to be greater for mothers who delivered at lower GAs. CONCLUSION: In this description of costs and resource use among PTL/PTB mothers in Germany throughout the pregnancy and up to three years after delivery, the greatest costs were noted prior to delivery. Costs appeared to decrease with increasing GA, particularly during the delivery hospitalisation and the first year after delivery.

The Indigenous Birthing in an Urban Setting study: the IBUS study : A prospective birth cohort study comparing different models of care for women having Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander babies at two major maternity hospitals in urban South East Queensland, Australia.

BACKGROUND: With persisting maternal and infant health disparities, new models of maternity care are needed to meet the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia. To date, there is limited evidence of successful and sustainable programs. Birthing on Country is a term used to describe an emerging evidence-based and community-led model of maternity care for Indigenous families; its impact requires evaluation. METHODS: Mixed-methods prospective birth cohort study comparing different models of care for women having Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander babies at two major maternity hospitals in urban South East Queensland (2015-2019). Includes women's surveys (approximately 20 weeks gestation, 36 weeks gestation, two and six months postnatal) and infant assessments (six months postnatal), clinical outcomes and cost comparison, and qualitative interviews with women and staff. DISCUSSION: This study aims to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, sustainability, clinical and cost-effectiveness of a Birthing on Country model of care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families in an urban setting. If successful, findings will inform implementation of the model with similar communities. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry # ACTRN12618001365257 . Registered 14 August 2018 (retrospectively registered).

Implementation of a labour companionship model in three public hospitals in Arab middle-income countries.

AIM: To assess the feasibility, acceptability, effectiveness and cost of the integration of a tailored labour companionship model in three public hospitals in Egypt, Lebanon and Syria. METHODS: Phased implementation research using mixed methods. Implementation strategies consisted of steering committees in hospitals, seminars for healthcare providers, information, education and communication materials, and adjustments in labour rooms. The labour companionship model consisted of (i) identification of a female relative as labour companion by women; (ii) provision of information, education and communication materials to women and companions; and (iii) allowing companions to accompany women throughout the first stage of labour. Semi-structured interviews with women, labour companions and healthcare providers were used to assess feasibility and acceptability of the model. Effectiveness was assessed through structured interviews with women, information abstracted from medical records and cost data. The comparison was made between the pre-implementation and the implementation phases. RESULTS: This model was found to be feasible, acceptable, effective and cost-beneficial. Women's satisfaction and perception of control improved and caesarean section rates were reduced significantly. CONCLUSION: This model can be adopted for these countries and elsewhere with comparable health systems. It enhances the quality of care and the provision of equitable and respectful maternity services.

High perinatal mortality rates persist in Kirakira: The sustainable development goals for health remain out of reach in the provinces of Solomon Islands.

AIM: This study aimed to calculate the perinatal mortality rate in Kirakira Hospital, a remote provincial hospital in Solomon Islands, over a 3-year period, from 2014 to 2016. METHODS: A retrospective audit of the labour ward admission books for the years 2014-2016 was conducted. Patient files of all perinatal deaths and caesarean sections were accessed and reviewed. Stillbirths and early neonatal deaths were classified, and results were compared with the national health statistics of Australia (2014). RESULTS: Between 2014 and 2016, there were 1311 births and 40 perinatal deaths (mortality rate of 31 per 1000). This is approximately three times the Australian rate of 9.6 deaths per 1000. Of these deaths, 28 were stillbirths, and 12 were neonatal deaths. Detailed information was available for 88% (35/40) of the perinatal deaths. Only 15 caesarean sections (1.1% of deliveries) were performed, compared to a rate of 32.1% of caesarean sections in Australia (2014). CONCLUSIONS: Kirakira continues to have a very high perinatal mortality rate that has not changed over the last 6 years. The rate is double that reported for Solomon Islands in current World Health Organization data. This discrepancy is likely due to an absence of clinical data outside of the National Referral Hospital in Honiara. This paper identifies clinical indicators that could be targeted to help lower the perinatal mortality rate in this remote and impoverished community.

Interhospital Transfers of Maternal Patients: Cohort Analysis of Nationwide Inpatient Sample, 2011.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to estimate the annual rate of interhospital transfers of pregnant and postpartum women in the United States and analyze associated patient and health system characteristics as measures of regionalized perinatal care performance. METHODS: Separate weighted univariate analyses of the 2011 Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) were performed for all maternal discharges, in-hospital deaths, and transfers. Multivariable logistic regression analyses for transfer dispositions adjusted for health system characteristics, maternal demographics, and diagnoses were performed. Additional perinatal service characteristics were analyzed using NIS merged with the 2011 American Hospital Association Annual Survey database. RESULTS: An estimated 18,082 patients, 0.43% of maternal hospitalizations, were transferred to an acute care hospital; 81% occurred without childbirth delivery before transfer. Transfers were toward larger, urban teaching hospitals and hospitals with higher levels of obstetrical and neonatal care and were more likely in states with ≥4.0 maternal-fetal medicine specialists/10,000 live births. Blacks and Native Americans were more likely and Hispanics and Asians were less likely than white patients to be transferred. Privately insured women were less likely to be transferred than were others. Transfers were associated with life-threatening maternal diagnoses and fetal indications. CONCLUSION: Transfers reflected a risk-based regionalized system of perinatal care, with racial and payer differences.

Randomised clinical trials in perinatal health care: a cost-effective investment.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the health and economic impacts of implementing efficacious treatment interventions with maintaining standard practice in maternal and perinatal health care. DESIGN AND SETTING: We identified randomised clinical trials (RCTs) in the Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand trials database that commenced recruitment during 2008 and had completed recruitment by 2015. Data from clinical trial registries and publications were collated to calculate the potential cost savings achievable by implementing efficacious treatment interventions. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Projected net cost savings over 5 years. RESULTS: Twenty-three eligible RCTs covering a range of behavioural and clinical interventions were identified, of which six reported interventions superior to standard practice (four trials) or placebo (two). The outcomes (but not the costs) of 17 trials were excluded from analysis (no difference between intervention and comparator groups in seven trials, recruitment problems in six, findings not yet published in four). The total funding amount for the 23 trials was $20.3 million; the potential cost savings over 5 years if the findings of the six trials reporting superior interventions were implemented was estimated to be $26.3 million if 10% of the eligible populations received the effective interventions, and $262.8 million with 100% implementation. CONCLUSIONS: Our retrospective analysis highlights the value of research in perinatal care and the importance of implementing positive findings for realising its value. Future trials in maternal and perinatal health care may provide significant returns on investment by informing clinical practice, improving patient outcomes and reducing health care costs.

Severe fear of childbirth indicates high perinatal costs for Swedish women giving birth to their first child.

INTRODUCTION: The objective of this study was to calculate costs associated with severe fear of childbirth (FOC) during pregnancy and peripartum by comparing two groups of women expecting their first child and attending an ordinary antenatal program; one with low FOC and one with severe FOC. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In a prospective case-control cohort study one group with low FOC [Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire (W-DEQ) sum score ≤60, n = 107] and one with severe FOC (W-DEQ ≥85, n = 43) were followed up till 3 months postpartum and included in the analysis. Medical records were assessed and medical parameters were mapped. Mean costs for healthcare consumption and sick leave during pregnancy were calculated and compared. RESULTS: When means were compared between the groups, the group with severe FOC had more visits for psychosocial reasons (p = 0.001) and more hours on sick leave (p = 0.03) during pregnancy, and stayed longer at the maternity ward (p = 0.04). They also more seldom had normal spontaneous deliveries (p = 0.03), and more often had an elective cesarean section on maternal request (p = 0.02). Postpartum, they more often than the group with low FOC paid visits to the maternity clinic because of complications (p = 0.001) and to the antenatal unit because of adverse childbirth experiences (p = 0.001). The costs for handling women with severe FOC was 38% higher than those for women with low FOC. CONCLUSION: Women with severe FOC generate considerably higher perinatal costs than women with low FOC when handled in care as usual.

Study protocol for a comparative effectiveness trial of two models of perinatal integrated psychosocial assessment: the PIPA project.

BACKGROUND: Studies examining psychosocial and depression assessment programs in maternity settings have not adequately considered the context in which psychosocial assessment occurs or how broader components of integrated care, including clinician decision-making aids, may optimise program delivery and its cost-effectiveness. There is also limited evidence relating to the diagnostic accuracy of symptom-based screening measures used in this context. The Perinatal Integrated Psychosocial Assessment (PIPA) Project was developed to address these knowledge gaps. The primary aims of the PIPA Project are to examine the clinical- and cost-effectiveness of two alternative models of integrated psychosocial care during pregnancy: 'care as usual' (the SAFE START model) and an alternative model (the PIPA model). The acceptability and perceived benefit of each model of care from the perspective of both pregnant women and their healthcare providers will also be assessed. Our secondary aim is to examine the psychometric properties of a number of symptom-based screening tools for depression and anxiety when used in pregnancy. METHODS: This is a comparative-effectiveness study comparing 'care as usual' to an alternative model sequentially over two 12-month periods. Data will be collected from women at Time 1 (initial antenatal psychosocial assessment), Time 2 (2-weeks after Time 1) and from clinicians at Time 3 for each condition. Primary aims will be evaluated using a between-groups design, and the secondary aim using a within group design. DISCUSSION: The PIPA Project will provide evidence relating to the clinical- and cost- effectiveness of psychosocial assessment integrated with electronic clinician decision making prompts, and referral options that are tailored to the woman's psychosocial risk, in the maternity care setting. It will also address research recommendations from the Australian (2011) and NICE (2015) Clinical Practice Guidelines. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ACTRN12617000932369.

Prenatal and post-natal cost of small for gestational age infants: a national study.

BACKGROUND: Small for gestational age (SGA) infants are at increased risk for preterm birth morbidities as well as a range of adverse perinatal outcomes that result in part from associated premature birth. We sought to evaluate the costs of SGA versus appropriate for gestational age (AGA) infants in France from pregnancy through the first year of life and separate the contributions of prematurity from the contribution of foetal growth on costs. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional population-based study using national hospital discharge data from French public and private hospitals. SGA infants were defined as newborns with a birth weight below the 10th percentile of French intrauterine growth curves adjusted for foetal sex. AGA infants were defined as newborns with a birth weight between the 25th and the 75th. All births were selected between January 1st, 2011 and December 31st, 2011. Costs were calculated from the hospital perspective for both mothers and children using their diagnostic related group and the French national cost study. Hospital outcomes were extracted from the database and compared by gestational age and mode of delivery. RESULTS: Of 777,720 total births in 2011, 84,688 SGA births (10.9%) and 395,760 AGA births (50.8%) were identified. After adjustment for gestational age, the cost for an SGA infant was €2,783 higher than for an AGA infant. The total maternal and infant hospital cost of SGA in France was estimated at 23% the total cost for deliveries. The high cost is explained by higher complication rates, more frequent hospital readmissions and longer lengths of stay. CONCLUSIONS: Being small for gestational age is an independent contributor to 1-year hospital costs for both mothers and infants.

Process value of care safety: women's willingness to pay for perinatal services.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the process value of care safety from the patient's view in perinatal services. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. SETTINGS: Fifty two sites of mandated public neonatal health checkup in 6 urban cities in West Japan. PARTICIPANTS: Mothers who attended neonatal health checkups for their babies in 2011 (n = 1316, response rate = 27.4%). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Willingness to pay (WTP) for physician-attended care compared with midwife care as the process-related value of care safety. WTP was estimated using conjoint analysis based on the participants' choice over possible alternatives that were randomly assigned from among eight scenarios considering attributes such as professional attendance, amenities, painless delivery, caesarean section rate, travel time and price. RESULTS: The WTP for physician-attended care over midwife care was estimated 1283 USD. Women who had experienced complications in prior deliveries had a 1.5 times larger WTP. CONCLUSIONS: We empirically evaluated the process value for safety practice in perinatal care that was larger than a previously reported accounting-based value. Our results indicate that measurement of process value from the patient's view is informative for the evaluation of safety care, and that it is sensitive to individual risk perception for the care process.

Morbidity and Health Care Costs After Early Term Birth.

BACKGROUND: Early term birth is associated with increased need for hospital care during the early postnatal period. The objective of this study was to assess the morbidity and health care-related costs during the first 3 years of life in children born early term. METHODS: Data come from a population-based birth cohort study in the municipalities of Helsinki, Espoo, and Vantaa, Finland using data from the national medical birth register and outpatient, inpatient, and primary care registers. All surviving infants born in 2006-08 (n = 29 970) were included. The main outcome measures were morbidities, based on ICD-10 codes recorded during inpatient and outpatient hospital visits, and health care costs, based on all care received, including well child visits (specialised care, primary care, private care, and medications). RESULTS: 7.0% of children born full term had at least one of the studied morbidities by 3 years of age. This percentage was significantly higher in children born early term: 8.6% (adjusted odds ratio 1.2, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.1, 1.4). The increased morbidity of children born early term was attributed to obstructive airway diseases and ophthalmological and motor problems. Health care-related costs during the first 3 years of life were 4813€ (95% CI 4385, 5241) per child in the early term group, higher than for full term children 4047€ (95% CI 3884, 4210). CONCLUSIONS: Infants born early term have increased morbidity and higher health care-related costs during early childhood than full term infants. Early term birth seems to be associated with a health disadvantage.

A qualitative study assessing the acceptability and adoption of implementing a results based financing intervention to improve maternal and neonatal health in Malawi.

BACKGROUND: Results Based Financing (RBF) interventions have recently gained significant momentum, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. However, most of the research has focused on the evaluation of the impacts of this approach, providing little insight into how the contextual circumstances surrounding the implementation have contributed to its success or failure. This study aims to fill a void in the current literature on RBF by focusing explicitly on the process of implementing a RBF intervention rather than on its impact. Specifically, this study focuses on the acceptability and adoption of the RBF intervention's implementation among local and international key stakeholders with the aim to inform further implementation. METHODS: The Results Based Financing for Maternal and Neonatal Health (RBF4MNH) Initiative is currently being implemented in Malawi. Our study employed an exploratory cross-sectional qualitative design to explore the factors affecting the acceptability and adoption of the intervention's implementation. Purposeful sampling techniques were used to identify each key stakeholder who participated in all or parts of the implementation process. In-depth interviews were conducted and analyzed using a deductive open coding approach. The final interpretation of the findings emerged through active discussion among the co-authors. RESULTS: Despite encountering several challenges, such as delay in procurement of equipment and difficulties in arranging local bank accounts, all stakeholders responded positively to the RBF4MNH Initiative. Stakeholders' acceptance of the RBF4MNH Initiative grew stronger over time as understanding of the intervention improved and was supported by early inclusion during the design and implementation process. In addition, stakeholders took on functions not directly incentivized by the intervention, suggesting that they turned adoption into actual ownership. All stakeholders raised concerns that the intervention may not be sustainable after its initial program phase would end, which contributed to hesitancy in fully accepting the intervention. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the results of this study, we recommend the inclusion of local stakeholders into the intervention's implementation process at the earliest stages. We also recommend setting up continuous feedback mechanisms to tackle challenges encountered during the implementation process. The sustainability of the intervention and its incorporation into national budgets should be addressed from the earliest stages.

Centralized or decentralized perinatal surgical care for rural women: a realist review of the evidence on safety.

BACKGROUND: The precipitous closure of rural maternity services in British Columbia (BC), Canada, and internationally has demanded a reevaluation of how to meet the perinatal surgical needs of rural women in accordance with the Triple Aim objectives of safety, cost-effectiveness, and satisfaction of all key stakeholders. There is emerging international evidence that General Practitioners with Enhanced Surgical Skills (GPESS) are a well-positioned health service solution due to their generalist nature in low-volume settings. A realist review was undertaken to evaluate international evidence on efficacious models of perinatal surgical care. This article presents findings of the safety of such practice, one discrete part of the full realist review. METHODS: This paper was derived from a larger review, which used a realist review methodology to guide the approach, and adhered to the RAMESES quality standard for realist reviews. Seven academic databases were searched in December 2013, using year (1990) and language (English) limiters in keeping with a rapid review approach. Mining of bibliographies in addition to consultation with international experts led to further inclusion of academic and grey literature up to March 2014. RESULTS: Two hundred fifty-four articles were originally identified; 119 articles were removed from consideration for lack of fit, resulting in the review of 191 articles from the peer reviewed and grey literature. Of these, 53 pertained to safety and are considered herein. Evidence on the safety of GPESS was consistent in the literature cited. Clinical, case study, and qualitative evidence demonstrates that perinatal surgical care is equally safe when provided by GPESS and specialist physicians. CONCLUSION: Findings allow health planners to confidently build perinatal surgical services around the contribution of GPs with enhanced surgical skills and focus on educational, regulatory, and continuing professional development mechanisms to ensure their sustainability. Volume-to-outcomes associations are variable and inconclusive with regards to safety, suggesting the need for more evidence. These findings, and the attendant health services planning directions, are reassuring as they suggest the viability of local models of care where feasible.

Obstetric benefits of health insurance: A comparative analysis of obstetric indices and outcome of enrollees and non-enrollees in southeast Nigeria.

This study determined the obstetric benefits and compared the obstetric indices and pregnancy outcome of enrollees and non-enrollees of the national health insurance scheme (NHIS). A prospective cohort study of enrollees and non-enrollees of NHIS was conducted over 2 years. Data was analysed with Epi-info statistical software. Malaria (25.3% versus 8.0%, p value ≤0.001), anaemia (11.3% versus 3.3%, p value ≤0.0001), preterm delivery (8.0% versus 2.7% p value = 0.00001), antenatal default rate (22.7% versus 6.7%, p value = 0.0001) and maternal death (2.7% versus 0.7%, p value = 0.00001) were higher in the non-insured. Singleton low birth weight (9.3% versus 2.7%, p value = 0.00001) and new born admission (10.7% versus 4.7%, p value = 0.00001) were also more in non-enrollee, with higher perinatal deaths (6.7% versus 2.0%, p value = 0.00001). Women managed under the Nigerian NHIS scheme had better maternal and perinatal indices, therefore, effort should be scaled up to ensure universal health insurance coverage for all parturient and their newborn.

Can available interventions end preventable deaths in mothers, newborn babies, and stillbirths, and at what cost?

Progress in newborn survival has been slow, and even more so for reductions in stillbirths. To meet Every Newborn targets of ten or fewer neonatal deaths and ten or fewer stillbirths per 1000 births in every country by 2035 will necessitate accelerated scale-up of the most effective care targeting major causes of newborn deaths. We have systematically reviewed interventions across the continuum of care and various delivery platforms, and then modelled the effect and cost of scale-up in the 75 high-burden Countdown countries. Closure of the quality gap through the provision of effective care for all women and newborn babies delivering in facilities could prevent an estimated 113,000 maternal deaths, 531,000 stillbirths, and 1·325 million neonatal deaths annually by 2020 at an estimated running cost of US$4·5 billion per year (US$0·9 per person). Increased coverage and quality of preconception, antenatal, intrapartum, and postnatal interventions by 2025 could avert 71% of neonatal deaths (1·9 million [range 1·6-2·1 million]), 33% of stillbirths (0·82 million [0·60-0·93 million]), and 54% of maternal deaths (0·16 million [0·14-0·17 million]) per year. These reductions can be achieved at an annual incremental running cost of US$5·65 billion (US$1·15 per person), which amounts to US$1928 for each life saved, including stillbirths, neonatal, and maternal deaths. Most (82%) of this effect is attributable to facility-based care which, although more expensive than community-based strategies, improves the likelihood of survival. Most of the running costs are also for facility-based care (US$3·66 billion or 64%), even without the cost of new hospitals and country-specific capital inputs being factored in. The maximum effect on neonatal deaths is through interventions delivered during labour and birth, including for obstetric complications (41%), followed by care of small and ill newborn babies (30%). To meet the unmet need for family planning with modern contraceptives would be synergistic, and would contribute to around a halving of births and therefore deaths. Our analysis also indicates that available interventions can reduce the three most common cause of neonatal mortality--preterm, intrapartum, and infection-related deaths--by 58%, 79%, and 84%, respectively.

Impact of a community-based perinatal and newborn preventive care package on perinatal and neonatal mortality in a remote mountainous district in Northern Pakistan.

BACKGROUND: There is limited evidence from community-based interventions to guide the development of effective maternal, perinatal and newborn care practices and services in developing countries. We evaluated the impact of a low-cost package of community-based interventions implemented through government sector lady health workers (LHWs) and community health workers (CHWs) of a NGO namely Aga Khan Health Services on perinatal and neonatal outcomes in a sub-population of the remote mountainous district of Gilgit, Northern Pakistan. METHODS: The package was evaluated using quasi experimental design included promotion of antenatal care, adequate nutrition, skilled delivery and healthy newborn care practices. Control areas continued to receive the routine standard health services. The intervention areas received intervention package in addition to the routine standard health services. Outcome measures included changes in maternal and newborn-care practices and perinatal and neonatal mortality rates between the intervention and control areas. RESULTS: The intervention was implemented in a population of 283324 over a 18 months period. 3200 pregnant women received the intervention. Significant improvements in antenatal care (92% vs 76%, p < .001), TT vaccination (67% vs 47%, p < .001), institutional delivery (85% vs 71%, p < .001), cord application (51% vs 71%, p < .001), delayed bathing (15% vs 43%, p < .001), colostrum administration (83% vs 64%, p < .001), and initiation of breastfeeding within 1 hour after birth (55% vs 40%, p < .001) were seen in intervention areas compared with control areas. Our results indicate significant reductions in mortality rates in intervention areas as compared to control areas from baseline in perinatal mortality rate (from 47.1 to 35.3 per 1000 births, OR 0.62; 95% CI: 0.56-0.69; P 0.02) and neonatal mortality rates (from 26.0 to 22.8 per 1000 live births, 0.58; 95% CI: 0.48-0.68; P 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: The implementation of a set of low cost community-based intervention package within the health system settings in a mountainous region of Pakistan was found to be both feasible and beneficial. The interventions had a significant impact in reduction of the burden of perinatal and neonatal mortality. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study is registered, ClinicalTrial.gov NCT02412293 .