In the absence of good-quality epidemiological data on coverage of essential interventions around the time of birth, health systems in LMICs face the challenge of trying to implement interventions without understanding the problem. Evaluating the quality of intrapartum and early postnatal care in health facilities, as well as ascertaining which factors contribute to poor uptake of recommendations and suboptimal maternal, fetal or early newborn outcomes, is thus essential. This network will not only monitor uptake of guidelines but also disseminate evidence-based products and support the implementation of WHO guidelines at facility and national levels.
Alongside study implementation, we will establish a concurrent set of activities to disseminate WHO guidelines, and provide hospital staff with structured training activities to optimize their use. This will include:
Watch this space for more to come!
