Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31518365›Full record

SynthesisPloS one2019

The impact of antenatal care on neonatal mortality in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Tesfalidet Tekelab, Catherine Chojenta, Roger Smith, Deborah Loxton

Abstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in PloS one, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 129 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
129citing papers in PubMed, 7 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

129 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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  2. Worldwide Wellness of Mothers and Babies (WWOMB): program overview and lessons learned from Ethiopia.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2024
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69 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Tesfalidet TekelabResearch Centre for Generational Health and Ageing, Faculty of Health and Medicine, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.ORCID 0000-0003-0774-7708
Catherine ChojentaResearch Centre for Generational Health and Ageing, Faculty of Health and Medicine, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.
Roger SmithThe Mothers and Babies Research Centre at the Hunter Medical Research Institute, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.
Deborah LoxtonResearch Centre for Generational Health and Ageing, Faculty of Health and Medicine, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-4745-8612

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundNewborns are at greatest risk of dying at and shortly after the time of birth. Newborn mortality remains an urgent concern and is an important indicator of child health, development and well-being. Studies examining the effectiveness of antenatal care on maternal and newborn health outcomes have provided conflicting results. The aim of this review and meta-analysis was to determine the pooled effect of antenatal care on neonatal mortality in sub-Saharan Africa.

methodsWe searched PubMed, Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL and Google Scholar from September to November 2016 and then updated our search on April 13, 2019. Two independent reviewers extracted data from eligible studies. The quality of each included study was assessed using the Risk of Bias Assessment tool for Non-Randomized Studies (RoBANS). The results were reported based on risk ratio (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) using a random-effects model.

resultsEight hundred and ninety eight studies were initially identified. During screening, 23 studies were found to be relevant for data extraction. Of these, only twelve studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were included in the analysis. In five of the twelve studies included in the analysis, antenatal care service utilization had a significant association with neonatal mortality. The pooled risk ratio by the random-effects model was 0.61 (95% CI: 0.43, 0.86) for neonates born to women who received at least one antenatal care visit by a skilled provider as compared to neonates born to women who did not receive antenatal care.

conclusionThis review indicates that utilization of at least one antenatal care visit by a skilled provider during pregnancy reduces the risk of neonatal mortality by 39% in sub-Saharan African countries. Thus, in order to accelerate progress towards the reduction of newborn deaths, all pregnant women should receive antenatal care during pregnancy.

Indexed as

Africa South of the SaharaFemaleHumansInfantInfant MortalityInfant, NewbornPerinatal DeathPerinatal MortalityPregnancyPrenatal Care

Identifiers

PMID31518365
PMCPMC6743758

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.