The SMART project (October 2011 – June 2014) was a USAID-funded MCHIP project that focused on improving maternal and neonatal health and nutrition. In collaboration with the Egyptian Nursing Syndicate, the project raised the awareness of nurses on the importance of infection control, especially around newborn babies and postpartum mothers. Click here to see a minimum dataset used for the …
The Power of Counseling: Changing Maternal, Infant, and Young Child Nutrition and Family Planning Practices in Dhamar, Yemen
This study was conducted in two districts of Dhamar, Yemen, to inform the development of evidence-based programming to address high rates of malnutrition, short inter-pregnancy intervals, and low contraceptive prevalence in the country. The study assessed mothers’ and couples’ ability to adopt recommended nutrition and family planning practices, identifying barriers and facilitating factors for optimal practices.
Cultural Beliefs and Perceptions of Maternal Diet and Weight Gain during Pregnancy and Postpartum Family Planning in Egypt
This operations research study addressed the following four objectives: Identify gaps and positive aspects of infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices through the application of the Trials for Improved Practices (TIPs) methodology with Egyptian mothers; Understand cultural beliefs, perceptions, behaviors, and motivating factors that may facilitate or act as a barrier to optimal IYCF practices and how these factors …
Maternal, Infant and Young Child Nutrition – Family Planning (MIYCN-FP) Integration Toolkit
K4Health Toolkits are electronic collections of carefully selected information resources on a particular topic for health policy makers, program managers, and service providers. This toolkit contains materials for advocacy, training, client counseling, program implementation, and learning from country experiences. Recent evidence shows that birth-to-pregnancy intervals of less than 24 months increase risks for child mortality and child undernutrition (stunting and …
Nutrition Program Design Assistant: A Tool For Program Planners
This tool includes a workbook and reference guide and is designed to help program planning teams—including those designing Child Survival and Health Grants Program or Title II food security program proposals—in the design of the nutrition component of their programs. The design assistant provides guidance on how to compare and contrast approaches and select the most appropriate combination of community-based nutrition …
Maximizing synergies between maternal, infant, and young child nutrition and family planning
This technical brief outlines the rationale for aligning maternal, infant, and young child nutrition and family planning interventions, summarizes evidence on the relationship between these two areas, and provides an overview of opportunities to identify linkages and better integrate counseling and services across multiple interventions.
Community-Based Distribution for Routine Iron/Folic Acid Supplementation in Pregnancy
Anemia during pregnancy is detrimental to both mothers and fetuses, increasing maternal and perinatal mortality. This MCHIP brief outlines the evidence that routine supplementation with iron and folic acid (IFA) in pregnancy is effective in preventing the condition. Moreover, studies from several countries show that community-based distribution is an important part of increasing coverage and compliance for IFA supplementation.