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Article History

Received: 21 January 2024

Accepted: 4 June 2026

First Online: 8 June 2026

Declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate: This study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Ethical clearance was obtained from the Adama Hospital Medical College Institutional Review Board (IRB), Protocol No. AHMC/ERC/2022/015, approved on March 15, 2022. The IRB explicitly approved verbal consent procedures as a waiver of written consent, given the low-risk nature of postpartum exit interviews, high literacy rates among participants, cultural norms favoring verbal agreement in busy health facilities, and privacy considerations (no participant names collected on questionnaires). Data collectors informed all mothers of the study’s purpose and obtained verbal consent for voluntary participation. Participants experiencing discomfort during interviews were excluded, and response confidentiality was maintained through secure data handling and storage.

Consent for publication: Not applicable.

Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.