TY - JOUR
T1 - Opportunities to improve postpartum care for mothers and infants
T2 - Design of context-specific packages of postpartum interventions in rural districts in four sub-Saharan African countries
AU - Duysburgh, Els
AU - Kerstens, Birgit
AU - Kouanda, Seni
AU - Kaboré, Paulin C.
AU - Belemsaga Yugbare, Danielle
AU - Gichangi, Peter
AU - Masache, Gibson
AU - Crahay, Beatrice
AU - Gondola Sitefane, Gilda
AU - Bique Osman, Nafissa
AU - Foia, Severiano
AU - Barros, Henrique
AU - Castro Lopes, Sofia
AU - Mann, Susan
AU - Nambiar, Bejoy
AU - Colbourn, Tim
AU - Temmerman, Marleen
N1 - Funding Information:
This paper is an output from the project ‘Missed Opportunities in Maternal and Infant health: reducing maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity in the year after childbirth through combined facility and community-based interventions – MOMI’. The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme [FP7/2007-2013] under grant agreement n° 265448. MOMI is a collaborative project between International Centre for Reproductive Health - Ghent University (Belgium), Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé (Burkina Faso), International Centre for Reproductive Health (Kenya), Parent and Child Health Initiative Trust (Malawi), International Centre for Reproductive Health (Mozambique), Eduardo Mondlane University (Mozambique), Medical Faculty of the University of Porto (Portugal) and University College London (United Kingdom).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Duysburgh et al.
PY - 2015/6/3
Y1 - 2015/6/3
N2 - Postpartum maternal and infant mortality is high in sub-Saharan Africa and improving postpartum care as a strategy to enhance maternal and infant health has been neglected. We describe the design and selection of suitable, context-specific interventions that have the potential to improve postpartum care. Methods: The study is implemented in rural districts in Burkina Faso, Kenya, Malawi and Mozambique. Results: Needs assessment findings showed that in all study countries maternal, newborn and child health is a national priority but specific policies for postpartum care are weak and there is very little evidence of effective postpartum care implementation. In the study districts few women received postpartum care during the first week after childbirth (25 % in Burkina Faso, 33 % in Kenya, 41 % in Malawi, 40 % in Mozambique). Based on these findings the interventions selected by stakeholders mainly focused on increasing the availability and provision of postpartum services and improving the quality of postpartum care through strengthening postpartum services and care at facility and community level. This includes the introduction of postpartum home visits, strengthening postpartum outreach services, integration of postpartum services for the mother in child immunisation clinics, distribution of postpartum care guidelines among health workers and upgrading postpartum care knowledge and skills through training. Conclusion: There are extensive gaps in availability and provision of postpartum care for mothers and infants. Acknowledging these gaps and involving relevant stakeholders are important to design and select sustainable, context-specific packages of interventions to improve postpartum care.
AB - Postpartum maternal and infant mortality is high in sub-Saharan Africa and improving postpartum care as a strategy to enhance maternal and infant health has been neglected. We describe the design and selection of suitable, context-specific interventions that have the potential to improve postpartum care. Methods: The study is implemented in rural districts in Burkina Faso, Kenya, Malawi and Mozambique. Results: Needs assessment findings showed that in all study countries maternal, newborn and child health is a national priority but specific policies for postpartum care are weak and there is very little evidence of effective postpartum care implementation. In the study districts few women received postpartum care during the first week after childbirth (25 % in Burkina Faso, 33 % in Kenya, 41 % in Malawi, 40 % in Mozambique). Based on these findings the interventions selected by stakeholders mainly focused on increasing the availability and provision of postpartum services and improving the quality of postpartum care through strengthening postpartum services and care at facility and community level. This includes the introduction of postpartum home visits, strengthening postpartum outreach services, integration of postpartum services for the mother in child immunisation clinics, distribution of postpartum care guidelines among health workers and upgrading postpartum care knowledge and skills through training. Conclusion: There are extensive gaps in availability and provision of postpartum care for mothers and infants. Acknowledging these gaps and involving relevant stakeholders are important to design and select sustainable, context-specific packages of interventions to improve postpartum care.
KW - Health system research
KW - Infant
KW - Maternal health
KW - Maternal mortality
KW - Newborn
KW - Postpartum
KW - Sub-Saharan Africa
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84930639025&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1186/s12884-015-0562-8
DO - 10.1186/s12884-015-0562-8
M3 - Article
C2 - 26038100
AN - SCOPUS:84930639025
SN - 1471-2393
VL - 15
JO - BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
JF - BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
IS - 1
M1 - 131
ER -