Guideline

WHO recommendations on health promotion interventions for maternal and newborn health 2015

Year of Publication

2015

Issuing Institution

World Health Organization

Links

WHO IRIS,WHO IRIS

Recommendations

10 included recommendations

(maternal and newborn health) Birth Preparedness and Complication Readiness (BPCR) interventions are recommended to increase the use of skilled care at birth and to increase the timely use of facility care for obstetric and newborn complications.

Status

Updated

Recommended in favor

Strong

Certainty of evidence

Very low

(Male involvement interventions for MNH Maternal and newborn health) Interventions to promote the involvement of men during pregnancy, childbirth and after birth are recommended to facilitate and support improved self-care of women, improved home care practices for women and newborns, improved use of skilled care during pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period for women and newborns, and increase the timely use of facility care for obstetric and newborn complications. These interventions are recommended provided that they are implemented in a way that respects, promotes and facilitates women’s choices and their autonomy in decision-making and supports women in taking care of themselves and their newborns. In order to ensure this, rigorous monitoring and evaluation of implementation is recommended.

Status

Retired

Recommended in favor

Strong

Certainty of evidence

Very low

(Partnership with Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs)) Where TBAs remain the main providers of care at birth, dialogue with TBAs, women, families, communities and service providers is recommended in order to define and agree on alternative roles for TBAs, recognizing the important role they can play in supporting the health of women and newborns.

Status

Updated

Recommended in favor

Strong

Certainty of evidence

Very low

(Providing culturally appropriate skilled maternity care ) Ongoing dialogue with communities is recommended as an essential component in defining the characteristics of culturally appropriate, quality maternity care services that address the needs of women and newborns and incorporate their cultural preferences. Mechanisms that ensure women’s voices are meaningfully included in these dialogues are also recommended.

Status

Maintained

Recommended in favor

Strong

Certainty of evidence

Very low

(Companion of choice at birth) Continuous companionship during labour and birth is recommended for improving women’s satisfaction with services. The GDG also endorsed the recommendations from an existing WHO guideline, WHO recommendations for augmentation of labour. b Continuous companionship during labour and birth is recommended for improving labour outcomes.

Status

Maintained

Recommended in favor

Strong

Certainty of evidence

Moderate

The GDG endorsed the recommendation from an existing guideline, WHO recommendation on community mobilization through facilitated participatory learning and action cycles with women’s groups for maternal and newborn health. c The implementation of community mobilization through facilitated participatory learning and action cycles with women’s groups is recommended to improve maternal and newborn health, particularly in rural settings with low access to health services. The implementation of facilitated participatory learning and action cycles with women’s groups should focus on creating a space for discussion where women are able to identify priority problems and advocate for local solutions for maternal and newborn health.

Status

Updated

Recommended in favor

Strong

Certainty of evidence

Moderate

Community participation in quality-improvement processes for maternity care services is recommended to improve quality of care from the perspectives of women, communities and health care providers. Communities should be involved in jointly defining and assessing quality. Mechanisms that ensure women’s voices are meaningfully included are also recommended.

Status

Maintained

Recommended in favor

Strong

Certainty of evidence

Very low

Community participation in programme planning, implementation and monitoring is recommended to improve use of skilled care during pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period for women and newborns, increase the timely use of facility care for obstetric and newborn complications and improve maternal and newborn health. Mechanisms that ensure women’s voices are meaningfully included are also recommended.

Status

Maintained

Recommended in favor

Strong

Certainty of evidence

Very low

(Maternity waiting homes) MWHs are recommended to be established close to a health facility where essential childbirth care and/or care for obstetric and newborn complications is provided to increase access to skilled care for populations living in remote areas or with limited access to services.

Status

Updated

Recommended in favor

Conditional

Certainty of evidence

Very low

Community-organized transport schemes are recommended in settings where other sources of transport are less sustainable and not reliable. However, measures should be taken to ensure the sustainability, efficacy and reliability of these schemes while seeking long-term solutions to transport.

Status

Updated

Recommended in favor

Conditional

Certainty of evidence

Very low