Evidence for action on improving the maternal and newborn health workforce: The basis for quality care

2015 ◽  
Vol 132 (1) ◽  
pp. 126-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jim Campbell ◽  
Laura Sochas ◽  
Giorgio Cometto ◽  
Zoë Matthews
Keyword(s):  
Health Workforce ◽  
Quality Care ◽  
Newborn Health ◽  
Maternal And Newborn Health ◽  
Maternal And Newborn

scholarly journals “The midwife helped me... Otherwise I could have died” Women’s experience of professional midwifery services in rural Afghanistan.  A qualitative study in the provinces Kunar and Laghman

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trude Thommesen ◽  
Hallgeir Kismul ◽  
Ian Kaplan ◽  
Khadija Safi ◽  
Graziella Van den Berg
Keyword(s):  
Professional Education ◽  
Quality Care ◽  
Emergency Obstetric Care ◽  
Newborn Health ◽  
Skilled Birth Attendant ◽  
Obstetric Care ◽  
Maternal And Newborn Health ◽  
Skin Contact ◽  
Birth Attendance ◽  
Maternal And Newborn

Abstract Background Afghanistan has one of the world’s highest maternal mortality ratios, in some areas more than 60% of women have no access to a skilled birth attendant. The main challenges for Afghan childbearing women are access to skilled birth attendance, emergency obstetric care and reliable contraception. The NGO-based project Advancing Maternal and Newborn Health in Afghanistan has supported education of midwives since 2002, according to the national plan for midwifery education. The aim of this study is to explore women´s experiences with professional midwifery care in four villages in Afghanistan covered by the project, to uncover challenges and improve services in rural and conflict-affected areas of the country. Methods An explorative case study approach was adopted. Fourteen in-depth interviews and four focus group discussions were conducted. Totally, 39 women participated; 25 who had given birth during the last six months, 11 mothers-in-laws and three community midwives in the provinces of Kunar and Laghman. Data generated by the interviews and observations was analysed through a thematic content analysis. Findings The women reported that the trained midwives’ life-saving competence, skills and care were important reasons for giving birth in a clinic, and the midwives seemed to be appreciated by many of the women, making more women to choose to give birth in the clinic. Women further appreciated midwives’ promotion of immediate skin-to-skin contact and breastfeeding. However, some women experienced rudeness, discrimination and negligence from the midwives. Moreover, disapproval from relatives, shame and problems with transport and security were important obstacles to women giving birth in the clinics. Conclusions Local recruitment and professional education of midwives as promoted by Afghan authorities and applied in the project seem successful in promoting utilization and satisfaction with maternal and newborn health services in rural Afghanistan. Nevertheless, the quality of the services is still wanting, with some women complaining of disrespectful care. There seems to be a need to focus more on communication issues during the education of midwives. An increased focus on in-service training and factors promoting quality care and respectful communication is necessary and should be prioritized.

scholarly journals “The midwife helped me... Otherwise I could have died” Women’s experience of professional midwifery services in rural Afghanistan.  A qualitative study in the provinces Kunar and Laghman

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trude Thommesen ◽  
Hallgeir Kismul ◽  
Ian Kaplan ◽  
Khadija Safi ◽  
Graziella Van den Berg
Keyword(s):  
Professional Education ◽  
Quality Care ◽  
Emergency Obstetric Care ◽  
Newborn Health ◽  
Skilled Birth Attendant ◽  
Obstetric Care ◽  
Maternal And Newborn Health ◽  
Skin Contact ◽  
Birth Attendance ◽  
Maternal And Newborn

Abstract Background Afghanistan has one of the world’s highest maternal mortality ratios, in some areas more than 60% of women have no access to a skilled birth attendant. The main challenges for Afghan childbearing women are access to skilled birth attendance, emergency obstetric care and reliable contraception. The NGO-based project Advancing Maternal and Newborn Health in Afghanistan has supported education of midwives since 2002, according to the national plan for midwifery education. The aim of this study is to explore women´s experiences with professional midwifery care in four villages in Afghanistan covered by the project, to uncover challenges and improve services in rural and conflict-affected areas of the country.MethodsAn explorative case study approach was adopted. Fourteen in-depth interviews and four focus group discussions were conducted. Totally, 39 women participated; 25 who had given birth during the last six months, 11 mothers-in-laws and three community midwives in the provinces of Kunar and Laghman. Data generated by the interviews and observations was analysed through a thematic content analysis.Findings The women reported that the trained midwives’ life-saving competence, skills and care were important reasons for giving birth in a clinic, and the midwives seemed to be appreciated by many of the women, making more women to choose to give birth in the clinic. Women further appreciated midwives’ promotion of immediate skin-to-skin contact and breastfeeding. However, some women experienced rudeness, discrimination and negligence from the midwives. Moreover, disapproval from relatives, shame and problems with transport and security were important obstacles to women giving birth in the clinics.Conclusions Local recruitment and professional education of midwives as promoted by Afghan authorities and applied in the project seem successful in promoting utilization and satisfaction with maternal and newborn health services in rural Afghanistan. Nevertheless, the quality of the services is still wanting, with some women complaining of disrespectful care. There seems to be a need to focus more on communication issues during the education of midwives. An increased focus on in-service training and factors promoting quality care and respectful communication is necessary and should be prioritized.

scholarly journals Using evidence to drive action: A “revolution in accountability” to implement quality care for better maternal and newborn health in Africa

2014 ◽  
Vol 127 (1) ◽  
pp. 96-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise Hulton ◽  
Zoe Matthews ◽  
Adriane Martin-Hilber ◽  
Richard Adanu ◽  
Craig Ferla ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Care ◽  
Newborn Health ◽  
Maternal And Newborn Health ◽  
Maternal And Newborn

scholarly journals Can programmatic inputs improve adolescent mothers’ access to care in rural Bangladesh? Nine-years of evidence from a cohort study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aminur Rahman ◽  
Tahmina Begum ◽  
Anne Austin ◽  
Md. Hasan ◽  
Nurul Alam ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Adolescent Mothers ◽  
Quality Care ◽  
Binary Logistic Regression ◽  
Newborn Health ◽  
Final Analysis ◽  
Adolescent Mother ◽  
Maternal And Newborn Health ◽  
P Value ◽  
Service Areas ◽  
Maternal And Newborn

Abstract Background Adolescent mothers (Girls aged 15-19) constitute 8% of annual global births, but account for 10% of annual maternal deaths. WHO recommended 4-8 Antenatal Care (ANC) visits, in addition to quality care and facility-based deliveries, are well-documented interventions to reduce maternal and child morbidity and mortality. Determinants of maternal and child health care in Bangladesh have received considerable attention, but less attention has been focused on adolescent mothers. This study explores the factors associated with 4 or more (4+) ANC visits and facility-based delivery among adolescent mothers in one rural area of Bangladesh, Methods This study uses Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS) data. We conducted a comparative study on trends in 4+ ANC visits and facility-based deliveries among adolescent mothers (10-19 years) residing in an intervention area (icddr,b service area, ISA) against a comparison area (government service areas, GSA) of HDSS between 2007 and 2015. 4,996 adolescent mothers were included in the final analysis. Binary logistic regression was used to document the statistical difference on outcome indicators in the two study areas. Results Trends in 4+ANC visits and facility-based deliveries were higher in the ISA relative to the GSA. The adjusted odds of an adolescent mother accessing 4+ ANC visits in the GSA, relative to ISA was 0.57 (95% CI: 0.49 – 0.66, p-value <0.05); the adjusted odds of an adolescent mother accessing facility-based delivery in the ISA, relative to GSA was 6.63 (95% CI: 5.85 – 7.52, p-value <0.05). Increasing numbers of ANC visits were associated with increases in facility-based births in both the ISA and GSA. Conclusion This study documented that both 4+ ANC visits and facility delivery rates among adolescent mothers are much higher in the ISA than GSA. Increasing 4+ ANC visits and facility deliveries over the years, particularly in the ISA, coincide with programmatic efforts to improve the quality and availability of maternal and newborn health services. Learning from existing interventions in ISA and applying them to other areas will strengthen Bangladesh’s efforts to improve maternal and newborn health outcomes and achieve the sustainable development goal 3 (SDG 3).

scholarly journals Maternal and newborn health risks of climate change: A call for awareness and global action

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathalie Roos ◽  
Sari Kovats ◽  
Shakoor Hajat ◽  
Veronique Filippi ◽  
Matthew Chersich ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Health Risks ◽  
Newborn Health ◽  
Maternal And Newborn Health ◽  
Global Action ◽  
Maternal And Newborn

scholarly journals Intersectional (in) equities in contact coverage of maternal and newborn health services in Nepal: insights from a nationwide cross-sectional household survey

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Resham B. Khatri ◽  
Yibeltal Alemu ◽  
Melinda M. Protani ◽  
Rajendra Karkee ◽  
Jo Durham
Keyword(s):  
Institutional Delivery ◽  
Secondary Analysis ◽  
Newborn Health ◽  
Household Survey ◽  
Universal Coverage ◽  
Maternal And Newborn Health ◽  
Multiple Forms ◽  
Wealth Status ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Maternal And Newborn

Abstract Background Persistent inequities in coverage of maternal and newborn health (MNH) services continue to pose a major challenge to the health-care system in Nepal. This paper uses a novel composite indicator of intersectional (dis) advantages to examine how different (in) equity markers intersect to create (in) equities in contact coverage of MNH services across the continuum of care (CoC) in Nepal. Methods A secondary analysis was conducted among 1978 women aged 15–49 years who had a live birth in the two years preceding the survey. Data were derived from the Nepal Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) 2016. The three outcome variables included were 1) at least four antenatal care (4ANC) visits, 2) institutional delivery, and 3) postnatal care (PNC) consult for newborns and mothers within 48 h of childbirth. Independent variables were wealth status, education, ethnicity, languages, residence, and marginalisation status. Intersectional (dis) advantages were created using three socioeconomic variables (wealth status, level of education and ethnicity of women). Binomial logistic regression analysis was employed to identify the patterns of (in) equities in contact coverage of MNH services across the CoC. Results The contact coverage of 4ANC visits, institutional delivery, and PNC visit was 72, 64, and 51% respectively. Relative to women with triple disadvantage, the odds of contact coverage of 4ANC visits was more than five-fold higher (Adjusted Odds Ratio (aOR) = 5.51; 95% CI: 2.85, 10.64) among women with triple forms of advantages (literate and advantaged ethnicity and higher wealth status). Women with triple advantages were seven-fold more likely to give birth in a health institution (aOR = 7.32; 95% CI: 3.66, 14.63). They were also four times more likely (aOR = 4.18; 95% CI: 2.40, 7.28) to receive PNC visit compared to their triple disadvantaged counterparts. Conclusions The contact coverage of routine MNH visits was low among women with social disadvantages and lowest among women with multiple forms of socioeconomic disadvantages. Tracking health service coverage among women with multiple forms of (dis) advantage can provide crucial information for designing contextual and targeted approaches to actions towards universal coverage of MNH services and improving health equity.

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