Background

Delay in decision-making to use skilled care during pregnancy and childbirth is an important factor for maternal death in many developing countries. This paper examines how decisions for maternal care are made in two rural communities in Burkina Faso.

Methods

Focus group discussions (FGDs) and individual interviews (IDIs)) were used to collect information with 30 women in Ouargaye and Diapaga medical districts. All interviews were tape recorded and analyzed using QSR Nvivo 2.0.

Results

Decision-making for use of obstetric care in the family follows the logic of the family’s management. Husbands, brothers-in-law and parents-in-law make the decision about whether to use a health facility for antenatal care or for delivery. In general, decision-makers are those who can pay, including the woman herself. Payment of care is the responsibility of men, according to women interviewed, because of their social role and status.

Conclusions

To increase use of health facilities in Ouargaye and Diapaga, the empowerment of women could be helpful as well as exemption of fees or cost sharing for care.

Background

Postnatal transmission of HIV-1 through breast milk remains an unsolved challenge in many resource-poor settings where replacement feeding is not a safe alternative. WHO now recommends breastfeeding of infants born to HIV-infected mothers until 12 months of age, with either maternal highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) or peri-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) in infants using nevirapine. As PEP, lamivudine showed a similar efficacy and safety as nevirapine, but with an expected lower rate of resistant HIV strains emerging in infants who fail PEP, and lower restrictions for future HIV treatment. Lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r) is an attractive PEP candidate with presumably higher efficacy against HIV than nevirapine or lamivudine, and a higher genetic barrier to resistance selection. It showed an acceptable safety profile for the treatment of very young HIV-infected infants. The ANRS 12174 study aims to compare the risk of HIV-1 transmission during and safety of prolonged infant PEP with LPV/r (40/10 mg twice daily if 2-4 kg and 80/20 mg twice daily if >4 kg) versus Lamivudine (7,5 mg twice daily if 2-4 kg, 25 mg twice daily if 4-8 kg and 50 mg twice daily if >8 kg) from day 7 until one week after cessation of BF (maximum 50 weeks of prophylaxis) to prevent postnatal HIV-1 acquisition between 7 days and 50 weeks of age.

Methods

The ANRS 12174 study is a multinational, randomised controlled clinical trial conducted on 1,500 mother-infant pairs in Burkina Faso, South Africa, Uganda and Zambia. We will recommend exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) until 26th week of life and cessation of breastfeeding at a maximum of 49 weeks in both trial arms.

HIV-uninfected infants at day 7 (± 2 days) born to HIV-1 infected mothers not eligible for HAART who choose to breastfeed their infants.

The primary endpoint is the acquisition of HIV-1 (as assessed by HIV-1 DNA PCR) between day 7 and 50 weeks of age. Secondary endpoints are safety (including resistance, adverse events and growth) until 50 weeks and HIV-1-free survival until 50 weeks.

Discussion

This study will provide a new evidence-based intervention to support HIV-1-infected women not eligible for HAART to safely breastfeed their babies.

Trial registration number ( http://www.clinicaltrials.gov)

NCT00640263

Background

Infant mortality rates (IMR) remain high in many sub-Saharan African countries, especially in rural settings where access to health services may be limited. Studies in such communities can provide relevant data on the burden of and risk factors for infant death. We measured IMR and explored risk factors for infant death in a cohort of children born in Banfora Health District, a rural area in South-West Burkina Faso.

Methods

A prospective community-based cohort study was nested within the PROMISE-EBF trial (NCT00397150) in 24 villages of the study area. Maternal and infant baseline characteristics were collected at recruitment and after birth, respectively. Home visits were conducted at weeks 3, 6, 12, 24 and 52 after birth. Descriptive statistics were calculated using robust standard errors to account for cluster sampling. Cox multivariable regression was used to investigate potential risk factors for infant death.

Results

Among the 866 live born children included in the study there were 98 infant deaths, yielding an IMR of 113 per 1000 live births (95% CI: 89–143). Over 75% of infant deaths had occurred by 6 months of age and the post neonatal infant mortality rate was 67 per 1000 live births (95% CI: 51–88). Infections (35%) and preterm births complications (23%) were the most common probable causes of death by 6 months. Multivariable analyses identified maternal history of child death, polygyny, twin births and poor anthropometric z-scores at week-3 as factors associated with increased risk of infant death.

Conclusions

We observed a very high IMR in a rural area of Burkina Faso, a country where 75% of the population lives in rural settings. Community-based health interventions targeting mothers and children at high risk are urgently needed to reduce the high burden of infant deaths in these areas.

Prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV-1 (MTCT) remains a challenge in most resource-limited settings, particularly in Africa. Single-dose and short-course antiretroviral (ARV) regimens are only partially effective and have failed to achieve wide coverage despite their apparent simplicity. More potent ARV combinations are restricted to pregnant women who need treatment for themselves but are also infrequently used. Furthermore, postnatal transmission via breastfeeding is a serious additional threat. Modifications of infant feeding practices aim to reduce breast-milk HIV transmission: replacement feeding is neither affordable nor safe for the majority of African women, and early breastfeeding cessation (e.g. prior to 6 months of life) requires substantial care and nutritional counselling to be practised safely. The recent roll out of ARV treatment has changed the paradigm of prevention of MTCT. To date, postnatal ARV interventions that have been evaluated target either maternal ARV treatment to selected breastfeeding women, with good efficacy, or single-drug post-exposure prophylaxis for short periods of time to their neonates, with a partial efficacy and at the expense of acquisition of drug-related viral resistance. We hypothesize that a viable solution to eliminate paediatric AIDS lies in the universal provision of fully suppressive ARV regimens to all HIV-infected women through pregnancy, delivery, and covering the entire breastfeeding period. Based on the available evidence, we suggest translating into practice the recently available evidence on this matter without any further delay.

Background

Transmission of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) through breast-feeding may involve both cell-free and cell-associated virus. This latter viral reservoir remains, however, to be fully explored. CD4+ T cell-associated virus production in breast milk was therefore investigated.

Methods

The ex vivo spontaneous production of HIV-1 antigen and HIV-1 RNA by CD4+ T cells was measured in paired blood and breast milk samples from 15 HIV-1 infected women treated or not with antiretroviral drugs. Spontaneous antigen secreting cells (HIV-1-AgSCs) from breast milk and blood were enumerated by an ELISpot assay, and cell-associated HIV-1 RNA was quantified by real-time PCR in supernatants of CD4+ T cells cultured for 18 hours without addition of polyclonal activators.

Results

Among the CD4+ T cells present in breast milk, memory cells expressing high levels of cell-surface activation markers were predominant. Spontaneous HIV-1-AgSCs were detected and enumerated in the breast milk of all 15 women, with a median number of 13.0 and 9.5 HIV-1- AgSCs/106 CD4+ T cells in aviremic (n = 7) and viremic (n = 8) women, respectively. Cell- associated HIV-1 RNA was detected in cell-free supernatants from 4/7 aviremic and 5/8 viremic individuals at median levels of 190 and 245 copies/ml, respectively.

Conclusions

Activated CD4+ T cells producing HIV-1 are detected in the breast milk of untreated individuals as well as those receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy. This finding strongly suggests that HIV-1 replication occurs in latently infected CD4+ T cells that, upon spontaneous activation, revert to productively infected cells. These cells might be responsible for a residual breast milk transmission despite maternal highly active antiretroviral therapy.

Background

In developing countries, most childbirth occurs at home and is not assisted by skilled attendants. The situation increases the risk of death for both mother and child and has severe maternal complications. The purpose of this study was to describe women's perceptions of homebirths in the medical districts of Ouargaye and Diapaga.

Methods

A qualitative approach was used to gather information. This information was collected by using focus group discussions and individual interviews with 30 women. All the interviews were tape recorded and managed by using QSR NVIVO 2.0, qualitative data management software.

Results

The findings show that homebirths are frequent because of prohibitive distance to health facilities, fast labour and easy labour, financial constraints, lack of decision making power to reach health facilities.

Conclusion

The study echoes the need for policy makers to make health facilities easily available to rural inhabitants to forestall maternal and child deaths in the two districts.

Background

There is a scarcity of reliable data on perinatal mortality (PNM) in Sub-Saharan Africa. The PROMISE-EBF trial, during which we promoted exclusive breastfeeding, gave us the opportunity to describe the epidemiology of PNM in Banfora Health District, South-West in Burkina Faso.

Study objectives

To measure the perinatal mortality rate (PNMR) in the PROMISE-EBF cohort in Banfora Health District and to identify potential risk factors for perinatal death.

Methods

We used data collected prospectively during the PROMISE-EBF-trial to estimate the stillbirth rate (SBR) and early neonatal mortality rate (ENMR). We used binomial regression with generalized estimating equations to identify potential risk factors for perinatal death.

Results

895 pregnant women were enrolled for data collection in the EBF trial and followed-up to 7 days after birth. The PNMR, the SBR and the ENMR, were 79 per 1000 (95% CI: 59-99), 54 per 1000 (95% CI: 38-69) and 27 per 1000 (95% CI: 9-44), respectively. In a multivariable analysis, nulliparous women (RR = 2.90, 95% CI: 1.6-5.0), primiparae mothers (RR = 2.20, 95% CI: 1.2-3.9), twins (RR = 4.0, 95% CI: 2.3-6.9) and giving birth during the dry season (RR = 2.1 95% CI: 1.3-3.3) were factors associated with increased risk of perinatal death. There was no evidence that risk of perinatal death differed between deliveries at home and at a health centre

Conclusion

Our study observed the highest PNMR ever reported in Burkina. There is an urgent need for sustainable interventions to improve maternal and newborn health in the country.

Background

The aim of this paper was to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of alternative training strategies for increasing access to emergency obstetric care in Burkina Faso.

Methods

Case extraction forms were used to record data on 2305 caesarean sections performed in 2004 and 2005 in hospitals in six out of the 13 health regions of Burkina Faso. Main effectiveness outcomes were mothers' and newborns' case fatality rates. The costs of performing caesarean sections were estimated from a health system perspective and Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratios were computed using the newborn case fatality rates.

Results

Overall, case mixes per provider were comparable. Newborn case fatality rates (per thousand) varied significantly among obstetricians, general practitioners and clinical officers, at 99, 125 and 198, respectively. The estimated average cost per averted newborn death (x 1000 live births) for an obstetrician-led team compared to a general practitioner-led team was 11 757 international dollars, and for a general practitioner-led team compared to a clinical officer-led team it was 200 international dollars. Training of general practitioners appears therefore to be both effective and cost-effective in the short run. Clinical officers are associated with a high newborn case fatality rate.

Conclusion

Training substitutes is a viable option to increase access to life-saving operations in district hospitals. The high newborn case fatality rate among clinical officers could be addressed by a refresher course and closer supervision. These findings may assist in addressing supply shortages of skilled health personnel in sub-Saharan Africa.

Approaches to reduce or prevent the risk of postnatal transmission through breastfeeding include the avoidance of all BF and the use of exclusive replacement feeds (RF) or exclusive breastfeeding for a limited duration with early and rapid cessation of BF around 4–6 months of age. The efficacy and safety of the latter approach has not been established and studies are in progress to provide further information. In addition, inactivation of HIV in breastmilk would allow breastfeeding to continue while reducing the risk of postnatal transmission of HIV, and may be usefully applied in certain circumstances, such as for premature infants or while a mother recovers from mastitits. In this review, experience from clinical trials or studies additional to their main objective of assessing rates and risk factors for MTCT, is discussed. This may inform policy, programming and training options, and be especially valuable in the absence of conclusive data of the efficacy of the interventions to be applied during the breastfeeding period.

Background

Substantial reductions in maternal mortality are called for in Millennium Development Goal 5 (MDG-5), thus assuming that maternal mortality is measurable. A key difficulty is attributing causes of death for the many women who die unaided in developing countries. Verbal autopsy (VA) can elicit circumstances of death, but data need to be interpreted reliably and consistently to serve as global indicators. Recent developments in probabilistic modelling of VA interpretation are adapted and assessed here for the specific circumstances of pregnancy-related death.

Methods

A preliminary version of the InterVA-M probabilistic VA interpretation model was developed and refined with adult female VA data from several sources, and then assessed against 258 additional VA interviews from Burkina Faso. Likely causes of death produced by the model were compared with causes previously determined by local physicians. Distinction was made between free-text and closed-question data in the VA interviews, to assess the added value of free-text material on the model's output.

Results

Following rationalisation between the model and physician interpretations, cause-specific mortality fractions were broadly similar. Case-by-case agreement between the model and any of the reviewing physicians reached approximately 60%, rising to approximately 80% when cases with a discrepancy were reviewed by an additional physician. Cardiovascular disease and malaria showed the largest differences between the methods, and the attribution of infections related to pregnancy also varied. The model estimated 30% of deaths to be pregnancy-related, of which half were due to direct causes. Data derived from free-text made no appreciable difference.

Conclusion

InterVA-M represents a potentially valuable new tool for measuring maternal mortality in an efficient, consistent and standardised way. Further development, refinement and validation are planned. It could become a routine tool in research and service settings where levels and changes in pregnancy-related deaths need to be measured, for example in assessing progress towards MDG-5.