Reaching mothers and babies with early postnatal home visits: the implementation realities of achieving high coverage in large-scale programs.

BACKGROUND: Nearly half of births in low-income countries occur without a skilled attendant, and even fewer mothers and babies have postnatal contact with providers who can deliver preventive or curative services that save lives. Community-based maternal and newborn care programs with postnatal home...

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Main Authors: Deborah Sitrin, Tanya Guenther, John Murray, Nanlesta Pilgrim, Sayed Rubayet, Reuben Ligowe, Bhim Pun, Honey Malla, Allisyn Moran
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2013-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3714261?pdf=render
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author Deborah Sitrin
Tanya Guenther
John Murray
Nanlesta Pilgrim
Sayed Rubayet
Reuben Ligowe
Bhim Pun
Honey Malla
Allisyn Moran
author_facet Deborah Sitrin
Tanya Guenther
John Murray
Nanlesta Pilgrim
Sayed Rubayet
Reuben Ligowe
Bhim Pun
Honey Malla
Allisyn Moran
author_sort Deborah Sitrin
collection DOAJ
description BACKGROUND: Nearly half of births in low-income countries occur without a skilled attendant, and even fewer mothers and babies have postnatal contact with providers who can deliver preventive or curative services that save lives. Community-based maternal and newborn care programs with postnatal home visits have been tested in Bangladesh, Malawi, and Nepal. This paper examines coverage and content of home visits in pilot areas and factors associated with receipt of postnatal visits. METHODS: Using data from cross-sectional surveys of women with live births (Bangladesh 398, Malawi: 900, Nepal: 615), generalized linear models were used to assess the strength of association between three factors - receipt of home visits during pregnancy, birth place, birth notification - and receipt of home visits within three days after birth. Meta-analytic techniques were used to generate pooled relative risks for each factor adjusting for other independent variables, maternal age, and education. FINDINGS: The proportion of mothers and newborns receiving home visits within three days after birth was 57% in Bangladesh, 11% in Malawi, and 50% in Nepal. Mothers and newborns were more likely to receive a postnatal home visit within three days if the mother received at least one home visit during pregnancy (OR2.18, CI1.46-3.25), the birth occurred outside a facility (OR1.48, CI1.28-1.73), and the mother reported a CHW was notified of the birth (OR2.66, CI1.40-5.08). Checking the cord was the most frequently reported action; most mothers reported at least one action for newborns. CONCLUSIONS: Reaching mothers and babies with home visits during pregnancy and within three days after birth is achievable using existing community health systems if workers are available; linked to communities; and receive training, supplies, and supervision. In all settings, programs must evaluate what community delivery systems can handle and how to best utilize them to improve postnatal care access.
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spelling doaj.art-c99bbab327bc4edb83804032078e22122022-12-22T01:15:39ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032013-01-0187e6893010.1371/journal.pone.0068930Reaching mothers and babies with early postnatal home visits: the implementation realities of achieving high coverage in large-scale programs.Deborah SitrinTanya GuentherJohn MurrayNanlesta PilgrimSayed RubayetReuben LigoweBhim PunHoney MallaAllisyn MoranBACKGROUND: Nearly half of births in low-income countries occur without a skilled attendant, and even fewer mothers and babies have postnatal contact with providers who can deliver preventive or curative services that save lives. Community-based maternal and newborn care programs with postnatal home visits have been tested in Bangladesh, Malawi, and Nepal. This paper examines coverage and content of home visits in pilot areas and factors associated with receipt of postnatal visits. METHODS: Using data from cross-sectional surveys of women with live births (Bangladesh 398, Malawi: 900, Nepal: 615), generalized linear models were used to assess the strength of association between three factors - receipt of home visits during pregnancy, birth place, birth notification - and receipt of home visits within three days after birth. Meta-analytic techniques were used to generate pooled relative risks for each factor adjusting for other independent variables, maternal age, and education. FINDINGS: The proportion of mothers and newborns receiving home visits within three days after birth was 57% in Bangladesh, 11% in Malawi, and 50% in Nepal. Mothers and newborns were more likely to receive a postnatal home visit within three days if the mother received at least one home visit during pregnancy (OR2.18, CI1.46-3.25), the birth occurred outside a facility (OR1.48, CI1.28-1.73), and the mother reported a CHW was notified of the birth (OR2.66, CI1.40-5.08). Checking the cord was the most frequently reported action; most mothers reported at least one action for newborns. CONCLUSIONS: Reaching mothers and babies with home visits during pregnancy and within three days after birth is achievable using existing community health systems if workers are available; linked to communities; and receive training, supplies, and supervision. In all settings, programs must evaluate what community delivery systems can handle and how to best utilize them to improve postnatal care access.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3714261?pdf=render
spellingShingle Deborah Sitrin
Tanya Guenther
John Murray
Nanlesta Pilgrim
Sayed Rubayet
Reuben Ligowe
Bhim Pun
Honey Malla
Allisyn Moran
Reaching mothers and babies with early postnatal home visits: the implementation realities of achieving high coverage in large-scale programs.
PLoS ONE
title Reaching mothers and babies with early postnatal home visits: the implementation realities of achieving high coverage in large-scale programs.
title_full Reaching mothers and babies with early postnatal home visits: the implementation realities of achieving high coverage in large-scale programs.
title_fullStr Reaching mothers and babies with early postnatal home visits: the implementation realities of achieving high coverage in large-scale programs.
title_full_unstemmed Reaching mothers and babies with early postnatal home visits: the implementation realities of achieving high coverage in large-scale programs.
title_short Reaching mothers and babies with early postnatal home visits: the implementation realities of achieving high coverage in large-scale programs.
title_sort reaching mothers and babies with early postnatal home visits the implementation realities of achieving high coverage in large scale programs
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3714261?pdf=render
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