{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,21]],"date-time":"2026-08-21T11:41:04Z","timestamp":1787312464696,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":22,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"21","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,10,26]],"date-time":"2021-10-26T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1635206400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Most maternal and perinatal deaths could be prevented through timely access to skilled birth attendants. Women should access appropriate obstetric care during pregnancy, labor, and puerperium. Maternity waiting homes (MWHs) permit access to emergency obstetric care when labor starts. This study compared maternal and perinatal outcomes among MWH users and non-users through a retrospective cohort study. Data were collected through obstetric chart reviews and analyzed using STATA version 15. Of the 8144 deliveries reported between 2015 and 2019, 1305 women had high-risk pregnancies and were included in the study. MWH users had more spontaneous vaginal deliveries compared to non-users (38.6% versus 16.8%) and less cesarean sections (57.7% versus 76.7%). Maternal morbidities such as postpartum hemorrhage occurred less frequently among users than non-users (2.13% versus 5.64%). Four women died among non-users while there was no death among users. Non-users had more stillbirths than users (7.68% versus 0.91%). The MWH may have contributed to the observed differences in outcomes. However, many women with high risk pregnancies did not use the MWH, indicating a probable gap in awareness, usefulness, or their inability to stay due to other responsibilities at home. Use of MWHs at scale could improve maternal and perinatal outcomes in Rwanda.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph182111211","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,10,26]],"date-time":"2021-10-26T23:49:52Z","timestamp":1635292192000},"page":"11211","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["Maternal and Perinatal Outcomes among Maternity Waiting Home Users and Non-Users in Rural Rwanda"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2424-0992","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Edwin","family":"Tayebwa","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"University Medical Centre Groningen, Department of Health Sciences, Global Health, University of Groningen, 9700 RB Groningen, The Netherlands"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4500-2264","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Richard","family":"Kalisa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"IntraHealth International, Kigali 6639, Rwanda"},{"name":"School of Public Health, University of Rwanda, Kigali 3286, Rwanda"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Amedee Fidele","family":"Ndibaza","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"IntraHealth International, Kigali 6639, Rwanda"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lisa","family":"Cornelissen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Gelre Hospital, Albert Schweitzerlaan 31, 7334 DZ Apeldoorn, The Netherlands"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Eefje Klein","family":"Teeselink","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Amalia Children\u2019s Hospital, Radboudumc Nijmegen, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Young-Mi","family":"Kim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Jhpiego, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jeroen","family":"van Dillen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Amalia Children\u2019s Hospital, Radboudumc Nijmegen, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2732-6620","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jelle","family":"Stekelenburg","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University Medical Centre Groningen, Department of Health Sciences, Global Health, University of Groningen, 9700 RB Groningen, The Netherlands"},{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Leeuwarden Medical Centre, 8934 AD Leeuwarden, The Netherlands"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,10,26]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"World Health Organization (2019). 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Manag."}],"container-title":["International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1660-4601\/18\/21\/11211\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T07:23:25Z","timestamp":1760167405000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1660-4601\/18\/21\/11211"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2021,10,26]]},"references-count":22,"journal-issue":{"issue":"21","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,11]]}},"alternative-id":["ijerph182111211"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/ijerph182111211","relation":{},"ISSN":["1660-4601"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1660-4601","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2021,10,26]]}}}