Improving coverage of postnatal care in rural Ethiopia using a community-based, collaborative quality improvement approach.

Abstract

Ethiopia has high maternal and neonatal mortality and low use of skilled maternity care. The Maternal and Newborn Health in Ethiopia Partnership (MaNHEP), a 3.5-year learning project, used a community collaborative quality improvement approach to improve maternal and newborn health care during the birth-to-48-hour period. This study examines how the promotion of community maternal and newborn health (CMNH) family meetings and labor and birth notification contributed to increased postnatal care within 48 hours by skilled providers or health extension workers.