This cross-sectional study examines monthly maternal deaths after the Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health decision.

BACKGROUND: Health literacy, influenced by sociodemographic characteristics such as ethnicity, economic means and societal factors, affects the ways in which pregnant women maintain their health; this in turn may increase risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes.
OBJECTIVE: To explore what is known about the impact of personal health literacy on prevention of stillbirth and related adverse outcomes in pregnant women of low socioeconomic status or from ethnic minority backgrounds.
METHODS: MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsychINFO, and CENTRAL were searched as well as reference lists of included studies and gray literature.
METHODS: Included studies focused on personal health literacy and stillbirth prevention in women from low socioeconomic or ethnic minority backgrounds in the perinatal period.
METHODS: A meta-summary approach was adopted for qualitative, observational, descriptive, and audit studies. Findings of intervention studies were extracted, and meta-analyses were conducted where possible. The primary outcome was stillbirth; maternal mortality and neonatal mortality were secondary outcomes.
RESULTS: Forty-one studies were included from diverse geographical settings. The meta-summary synthesized five abstracted statements. These recognized lower personal health literacy and greater difficulty interacting with healthcare services in the studied populations, primarily as the result of limited health knowledge, lack of positive perception towards health services, language barriers, illiteracy, and relying on friends or family members for health information. Meta-analysis of intervention studies revealed no association between current interventions that aimed to increase personal health literacy and the risk of stillbirth (relative risk [RR] 1.04, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.96-1.12), neonatal mortality (RR 0.88, 95% CI 0.75-1.03), and maternal mortality (RR 0.87, 95% CI 0.63-1.22).
CONCLUSIONS: Various factors suggest lower personal health literacy in women of low socioeconomic status or ethnic minority, which can increase the risk of stillbirth. However, this review identified no significant impact of current health education interventions on the risk of stillbirth, or neonatal or maternal mortality. Although not directly measured, the health education interventions were anticipated to increase personal health literacy. Further research on the topic of this scoping review is warranted, particularly in lower-resource settings and regarding the potential role of e-literacy and organizational health literacy to improve pregnancy outcomes. To address deficits in health literacy, efforts must be made to provide pregnant women with health information in novel, accessible ways.

Objectives The study sought to evaluate and compare the maternal and fetal outcomes of pregnancy in women with sickle cell disease (SCD) versus healthy pregnant women in Bahrain. The objective was to update the available data in order to come up with a strategy to implement a multidisciplinary management program, which will enhance pregnancy outcomes for the SCD patient population. Materials and methods This retrospective case-control study was conducted in the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department at Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC) in Bahrain. The study group consisted of all pregnant women with homozygous SCD (HbSS) who delivered at SMC between January 1, 2019, and December 31, 2021. The control group comprised pregnant women who delivered at SMC during the same period but did not have SCD or trait. Data for the study were collected from the healthcare system records at SMC, specifically the I-Seha electronic medical record system and the labor room registry book. A thorough review and analysis of the data were conducted, encompassing 217 cases of SCD and 200 controls. The variables examined included nationality, age, gravidity, parity, gestational age, reason for admission, antenatal/postnatal complications (such as urinary tract infection, pneumonia, acute chest syndrome, thromboembolism, premature rupture of membranes, hypertension, pre-eclampsia, and intrauterine growth restriction), type of delivery, birth weight, newborn outcome, and postnatal complications. Results Pregnant women with SCD experienced significantly higher rates of antenatal hospitalization compared to controls - 69.6% were admitted at least twice versus only 16.5%. Vaso-occlusive crises were the primary reason for admission in over half of SCD patients, with 22.6% having one episode, 11.1% having two, and 20.3% having more than two during pregnancy. Low hemoglobin levels also necessitated admission in 11.1% of SCD women, while no controls required hospitalization for this. The burden of maternal morbidity was substantially greater in the SCD group, with only 20.3% free of complications versus 94% in controls. SCD women had elevated rates of blood transfusions, acute chest syndrome, and urinary tract infections. Adverse pregnancy outcomes were also more common, including higher risks of preterm birth, low birth weight, and intrauterine growth restriction. Despite these increased maternal and fetal risks, there was no significant difference in the incidence of hypertensive disorders between groups. Interestingly, our data showed a significantly lower incidence of gestational diabetes in the SCD group compared to controls (8.3% vs. 18%). Tragically, one maternal death occurred in the SCD group, although the overall maternal mortality did not differ significantly. Conclusion SCD poses substantial risks for mother and fetus. Careful monitoring with a multidisciplinary team and patient education are crucial. Early detection can reduce morbidity and mortality. Further research is needed on interventions to improve outcomes.

The Maternal Death Surveillance and Response (MDSR) system is designed to continuously identify and review all maternal deaths. It aims to assist countries in understanding the scale and distribution of maternal deaths, identifying their causes, and informing corrective measures to address the challenge. Despite the growing adoption of the MDSR by numerous low- or middle-income countries, its implementation faces various challenges, including legal ones. This scoping review was conducted to map legal issues and challenges that arise during the implementation of the MDSR. It adapted the Bain and Kongnyuy framework, categorising legal issues into data, people, use of findings, and legal regulation. Literature was retrieved from seven databases, complemented by additional online searches. We included studies published in English between 2010 and November 2022 that report on legal issues arising during the implementation of MDSR. Out of 1,174 studies screened, 31 were selected for review. The review highlighted the limited attention given to the legal dimension of the MDSR by the research community. It also documented the lack of adequate legal framework essential for the system\'s effective implementation. Inadequate safeguards for informational privacy and the lack of confidentiality reinforce a prevalent sense of being blamed, mainly among health workers. Consequently, widespread underreporting and intentional misattribution of causes of maternal death, defensive referrals, and disengagement from the MDSR process were reported. We recommend that implementing countries regulate the gathering and use of MDSR data through suitable laws and legally ensure that the MDSR data are only used for the intended purpose. Appropriate complaint-handling mechanisms are needed in health systems to prevent the misuse of the MDSR. Future studies on MDSR implementation would benefit from involving legal experts, considering the multifaceted legal dimensions of the MDSR.

UNASSIGNED: The prevalence of contraception among married women, evaluated at 23%, is low in Cameroon. Maternal death rates, estimated at 782 deaths per 100,000 live births, are very worrying. The National Strategic Plan for Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (2015-2020) and the Health Sector Strategy (2016-2027) focuses on increasing modern contraceptive prevalence as a means to reduce maternal death. This paper identifies women\'s bargaining power as a factor that may stimulate contraceptive use. The objective of this study is to analyze the association between women\'s bargaining power within couples and modern contraceptive use.
UNASSIGNED: The data used come from the fifth Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) conducted in 2018. Women\'s bargaining power within couple is measured by a Woman Bargaining Power Composite Index (WBPCI) built through a multiple correspondence analysis. The logistic regression model was used to analyze the relationship between WBPCI and modern contraceptive use.
UNASSIGNED: The results of the descriptive statistics show that women\'s bargaining power is higher among women who use contraception than for those who do not. The results of the logistic regression model show that an increase of WBPCI was significantly associated with higher chances of using a modern contraceptive method (OR = 1.352; 95% CI: 1.257, 1.454; p <0.01). The education of women is also a key determinant since educated women were at least two times more likely to use a modern contraceptive method than uneducated women.
UNASSIGNED: To reduce high maternal death rates in Cameroon, public health policies should not only focus on the health system itself, but should also focus on social policies to empower women in the household.

BACKGROUND: We conducted this updated systematic review to assess the effects of corticosteroids vs. placebo or no treatment for improving patient-relevant outcomes in hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes and low platelets (HELLP) syndrome.
METHODS: CENTRAL, MEDLINE/PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus, from the date of inception of the databases to February 3, 2024 were searched. Reference lists of included studies and systematic reviews were thoroughly searched. We included RCTs that enrolled women with HELLP syndrome, whether antepartum or postpartum, to receive any corticosteroid versus placebo or no treatment. No language or publication date restrictions were made. We used a dual independent approach for screening titles and abstracts, full text screening, and data extraction. Risk of bias was assessed in the included studies using Cochrane\'s RoB 2 tool. Pairwise meta-analyses were conducted, where two or more studies met methodological criteria for inclusion. GRADE approach was used to assess certainty of evidence for the pre-specified outcomes.
RESULTS: Fifteen trials (821 women) compared corticosteroids with placebo or no treatment. The effect of corticosteroids is uncertain for the primary outcome i.e., maternal death (risk ratio [RR] 0.77, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.25 to 2.38, very low certainty evidence). Out of 6 studies reporting maternal death, 5 were judged overall to have \"low risk\" of bias. The effect of corticosteroids is also uncertain for other important outcomes including pulmonary edema (RR 0.70, 95% CI 0.23 to 2.09), dialysis (RR 3, 95% CI 0.13 to 70.78), liver morbidity (hematoma, rupture, and failure; RR 0.22, 95% CI 0.03 to 1.83), or perinatal death (0.64, 95% CI 0.21 to 1.97) because of very low certainty evidence. Low certainty evidence suggests that corticosteroids have little or no effect on the need for platelet transfusion (RR 0.98, 95% CI 0.60 to 1.60) and may result in a slight reduction in acute renal failure (RR 0.67, 95% CI 0.40 to 1.12). Subgroup and sensitivity analyses showed results that were similar to the primary synthesis.
CONCLUSIONS: In women with HELLP syndrome, the effect of corticosteroids vs. placebo or no treatment is uncertain for patient-relevant outcomes including maternal death, maternal morbidity, and perinatal death. These uncertainties regarding this critical question should be addressed by adequately powered rigorous trials.
BACKGROUND: Center for Open Science, osf.io/yzku5.

UNASSIGNED: To analyze the death of Brazilian pregnant and postpartum women due to COVID-19 or unspecific cause.
UNASSIGNED: This is retrospective, descriptive-exploratory, population-based study carried out with the Sistema de Informação de Vigilância Epidemiológica da Gripe (SIVEP-Gripe) database, with pregnant and postpartum women of reproductive age who died from confirmed COVID-19 between 2020 and 2021. The chosen variables were: age, gestational period, type and number of comorbidities, skin color, using the statistical software R Foundation for Statistical Computing Platform, version 4.0.3 and Statistical Package for Social Science, version 29.0 for analysis.
UNASSIGNED: A total of 19,333 cases of pregnant and postpartum women aged between 10 and 55 years diagnosed with SARS were identified, whether due to confirmed COVID-19 or unspecific causes. Of these, 1,279 died, these cases were classified into two groups according to the cause of death: deaths from COVID-19 (n= 1,026) and deaths from SARS of unspecific cause (n= 253).
UNASSIGNED: The risk of death increased among black and brown women, in the postpartum period and with the presence of comorbidities, mainly diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and obesity. The data presented here draw attention to the number of deaths from SARS, especially among sociodemographic profiles, precarious access to health, such as the black population. In addition, limitations in adequate access to health care are reinforced by even lower rates of ICU admissions among women who died from SARS of an unspecified cause.

UNASSIGNED: The global population impacted by humanitarian crises continues to break records each year, leaving strained and fractured health systems reliant upon humanitarian assistance in more than 60 countries. Yet little is known about implementation of maternal and perinatal death surveillance and response (MPDSR) within crisis-affected contexts. This scoping review aimed to synthesise evidence on the implementation of MPDSR and related death review interventions in humanitarian settings.
UNASSIGNED: We searched for peer-reviewed and grey literature in English and French published in 2016-22 that reported on MPDSR and related death review interventions within humanitarian settings. We screened and reviewed 1405 records, among which we identified 25 peer-reviewed articles and 11 reports. We then used content and thematic analysis to understand the adoption, appropriateness, fidelity, penetration, and sustainability of these interventions.
UNASSIGNED: Across the 36 records, 33 unique programmes reported on 37 interventions within humanitarian contexts in 27 countries, representing 69% of the countries with a 2023 United Nations humanitarian appeal. Most identified programmes focussed on maternal death interventions; were in the pilot or early-mid implementation phases (1-5 years); and had limited integration within health systems. While we identified substantive documentation of MPDSR and related death review interventions, extensive gaps in evidence remain pertaining to the adoption, fidelity, penetration, and sustainability of these interventions. Across humanitarian contexts, implementation was influenced by severe resource limitations, variable leadership, pervasive blame culture, and mistrust within communities.
UNASSIGNED: Emergent MPDSR implementation dynamics show a complex interplay between humanitarian actors, communities, and health systems, worthy of in-depth investigation. Future mixed methods research evaluating the gamut of identified MPDSR programmes in humanitarian contexts will greatly bolster the evidence base. Investment in comparative health systems research to understand how best to adapt MPDSR and related death review interventions to humanitarian contexts is a crucial next step.

UNASSIGNED: Rates of maternal mortality are highest in low-resource settings. Family members are often involved in the critical periods surrounding a maternal death, including transportation to health centers and financial and emotional support during hospital admissions. Maternal death has devastating impacts on surviving family members, which are often overlooked and understudied.
UNASSIGNED: Our study aimed to explore the hospital experiences of family members surrounding a maternal death, and to define their access to and need for institutional and psychosocial support.
UNASSIGNED: This mixed methods cross-sectional study was conducted at an urban tertiary hospital in Ghana. Maternal mortalities from June 2019 to December 2020 were identified using death certificates. Participants, defined as husbands or other heads of households in families affected by maternal mortality, were purposively recruited. An interview guide was developed using grounded theory. In-person semi-structured interviews were conducted in English or Twi to explore impacts of maternal mortality on family members, with a focus on hospital experiences. Surveys were administered on types of and needs for institutional support. Interviews were audio recorded, translated, transcribed, coded with an iteratively-developed codebook, and thematically analyzed. Survey data was descriptively analyzed.
UNASSIGNED: Fifty-one participants included 26 husbands of the deceased woman, 5 parents, 12 siblings, and 8 second-degree relatives. Interviews revealed an overall negative hospital experience for surviving family members, who expressed substantial dissatisfaction and distress. Four themes regarding the hospital experience emerged from the interviews: 1) poor communication from healthcare workers and hospital personnel, which contributed to 2) limited understanding of the patient\'s clinical status, hospital course, and cause of death; 3) maternal death perceived as avoidable; and 4) maternal death perceived as unexpected and shocking. Survey data revealed that only 10% of participants were provided psychosocial support following the maternal death event, yet 93.3% of those who did not receive support desired this resource.
UNASSIGNED: The hospital experience was overall negative for family members and a lack of effective communication emerged as the root cause of this negative perception. Strategies to improve communication between healthcare providers and families are essential. In addition, there is an unmet need for formal mental health resources for families who experience a maternal death.

As an example of a low- and middle-income country (LMIC), India ranks pre-eclampsia among the top three causes of maternal mortality, following haemorrhage and infections. It is one of the primary concerns for maternal and perinatal health in LMICs. Many LMICs lack clear consensus and guidelines for the prevention, diagnosis, and management of hypertensive disorders in pregnancy, including pre-eclampsia. The International Society for the Study of Hypertension in Pregnancy 2021 guidelines address LMIC applications, offering customisable solutions. Atypical presentations of pre-eclampsia contribute to diagnostic delays, resulting in additional adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes. Implementing management strategies faces challenges in both urban and rural settings. Adapting global research involving local populations is imperative, with the potential for cost-effective adoption of international guidelines. Prevention, early diagnosis, and education dissemination are essential, involving healthcare providers and advocacy initiatives. Encouraging government investment in pre-eclampsia management as a public health initiative is important. This article explores socio-economic, cultural, and legislative factors influencing the management of pre-eclampsia in LMICs, addressing emerging challenges and potential partnerships for healthcare provision.