IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0293479.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Proximate and distant determinants of maternal and neonatal mortality in the postnatal period: A scoping review of data from low- and middle-income countries

Author

Listed:
  • Preston Izulla
  • Angela Muriuki
  • Michael Kiragu
  • Melanie Yahner
  • Virginia Fonner
  • Syeda Nabin Ara Nitu
  • Bernard Osir
  • Farahat Bello
  • Joseph de Graft-Johnson

Abstract

Global maternal and neonatal mortality rates remain unacceptably high. The postnatal period, encompassing the first hour of life until 42 days, is critical for mother-baby dyads, yet postnatal care (PNC) coverage is low. Identifying mother-baby dyads at increased risk for adverse outcomes is critical. Yet few efforts have synthesized research on proximate and distant factors associated with maternal and neonatal mortality during the postnatal period. This scoping review identified proximate and distant factors associated with maternal and neonatal mortality during the postnatal period within low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). A rigorous, systematic search of four electronic databases was undertaken to identify studies published within the last 11 years containing data on risk factors among nationally representative samples. Results were synthesized narratively. Seventy-nine studies were included. Five papers examined maternal mortality, one focused on maternal and neonatal mortality, and the rest focused on neonatal mortality. Regarding proximate factors, maternal age, parity, birth interval, birth order/rank, neonate sex, birth weight, multiple-gestation, previous history of child death, and lack of or inadequate antenatal care visits were associated with increased neonatal mortality risk. Distant factors for neonatal mortality included low levels of parental education, parental employment, rural residence, low household income, solid fuel use, and lack of clean water. This review identified risk factors that could be applied to identify mother-baby dyads with increased mortality risk for targeted PNC. Given risks inherent in pregnancy and childbirth, adverse outcomes can occur among dyads without obvious risk factors; providing timely PNC to all is critical. Efforts to reduce the prevalence of risk factors could improve maternal and newborn outcomes. Few studies exploring maternal mortality risk factors were available; investments in population-based studies to identify factors associated with maternal mortality are needed. Harmonizing categorization of factors (e.g., age, education) is a gap for future research.

Suggested Citation

  • Preston Izulla & Angela Muriuki & Michael Kiragu & Melanie Yahner & Virginia Fonner & Syeda Nabin Ara Nitu & Bernard Osir & Farahat Bello & Joseph de Graft-Johnson, 2023. "Proximate and distant determinants of maternal and neonatal mortality in the postnatal period: A scoping review of data from low- and middle-income countries," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 18(11), pages 1-20, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0293479
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0293479
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0293479
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0293479&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0293479?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Cleland, John G. & van Ginneken, Jerome K., 1988. "Maternal education and child survival in developing countries: The search for pathways of influence," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 27(12), pages 1357-1368, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Susanna M Makela & Rakhi Dandona & T R Dilip & Lalit Dandona, 2013. "Social Sector Expenditure and Child Mortality in India: A State-Level Analysis from 1997 to 2009," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(2), pages 1-10, February.
    2. Maria C. Lo Bue, 2024. "Drivers of changes in child nutritional conditions: A panel data‐based study on Indonesian households, 1997–2014," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(2), pages 741-776, May.
    3. Jayanta Kumar Bora & Rajesh Raushan & Wolfgang Lutz, 2019. "The persistent influence of caste on under-five mortality: Factors that explain the caste-based gap in high focus Indian states," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(8), pages 1-20, August.
    4. Jeroen Klomp & Jakob De Haan, 2008. "Effects of Governance on Health: a Cross‐National Analysis of 101 Countries," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(4), pages 599-614, November.
    5. Frost, Michelle Bellessa & Forste, Renata & Haas, David W., 2005. "Maternal education and child nutritional status in Bolivia: finding the links," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 60(2), pages 395-407, January.
    6. Hannum, Emily & Buchmann, Claudia, 2005. "Global Educational Expansion and Socio-Economic Development: An Assessment of Findings from the Social Sciences," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 333-354, March.
    7. Heaton, Tim B. & Forste, Renata & Hoffmann, John P. & Flake, Dallan, 2005. "Cross-national variation in family influences on child health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 60(1), pages 97-108, January.
    8. Chandan Kumar & Prashant Kumar Singh & Rajesh Kumar Rai, 2012. "Under-Five Mortality in High Focus States in India: A District Level Geospatial Analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(5), pages 1-15, May.
    9. Aysıt Tansel & Deniz Karaoğlan, 2019. "The Effect of Education on Health Behaviors and Obesity in Turkey: Instrumental Variable Estimates from a Developing Country," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 31(5), pages 1416-1448, December.
    10. Chalasani, Satvika, 2012. "Understanding wealth-based inequalities in child health in India: A decomposition approach," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(12), pages 2160-2169.
    11. Naushin Mahmood & M. Faramurz K. Kiani, 1994. "Health Care Determinants of Child Survival in Pakistan," The Pakistan Development Review, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, vol. 33(4), pages 759-771.
    12. Manisha Chakrabarty & Sumon Kumar Bhaumik, 2012. "Whither human capital? The woeful tale of transition to tertiary education in India," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(9), pages 835-838, June.
    13. Martine Audibert & Robert Kolesar, 2017. "Post-neonatal Mortality Impacts Following Grants from the Gavi Vaccine Alliance: An Econometric Analysis from 2000 to 2014," Working Papers halshs-01484982, HAL.
    14. Makate, Marshall & Makate, Clifton, 2016. "The causal effect of increased primary schooling on child mortality in Malawi: Universal primary education as a natural experiment," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 72-83.
    15. Simona Rasciute, 2023. "Parental education and child health: The exploration of the cross‐gender intergenerational transmission mechanism," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 76(4), pages 642-658, November.
    16. Emily Smith-Greenaway & Christie Sennott, 2016. "Death and Desirability: Retrospective Reporting of Unintended Pregnancy After a Child’s Death," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 53(3), pages 805-834, June.
    17. Samuel Preston, 1993. "The contours of demography: Estimates and projections," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 30(4), pages 593-606, November.
    18. Kaffenberger, Michelle & Pritchett, Lant, 2021. "Effective investment in women's futures: Schooling with learning," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    19. Dana A. Glei & Noreen Goldman & German Rodriguez, 2002. "Utilization of Care During Pregnancy in Rural Guatemala: Does Obstetrical Need Matters," Working Papers 308, Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Office of Population Research..
    20. Benta A. Abuya & Joyce Mumah & Karen Austrian & Maurice Mutisya & Caroline Kabiru, 2018. "Mothers’ Education and Girls’ Achievement in Kibera: The Link With Self-Efficacy," SAGE Open, , vol. 8(1), pages 21582440187, March.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0293479. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.