Are national policies and programs for prevention and management of postpartum hemorrhage and preeclampsia adequate?

Publish Date: July 2014
Author: Jeffrey Michael Smith, Sheena Currie, Tirza Cannon, Deborah Armbruster, and Julia Perri
Language: English

Global Health: Science and Practice has published an MCHIP co-authored article entitled, “Are national policies and programs for prevention and management of postpartum hemorrhage and preeclampsia adequate? A key informant survey in 37 countries.”

The article describes a key informant survey conducted in 37 countries that addressed six core maternal health programmatic areas: policy, training, medication distribution and logistics, national reporting of key indicators, programming, and challenges to and opportunities for scale-up. The survey provides a multi-country snapshot of policy, practice, supplies and activities, and guides national and global program managers and policymakers in setting priorities. The authors found that most surveyed countries have supportive policies and program elements, but issues remain that impede maternal health efforts. The authors’ recommendations include: increase support for misoprostol to prevent postpartum hemorrhage during home births, ensure availability of magnesium sulfate for management of women with pre-eclampsia/eclampsia, provide clear definitions and uniform application of midwifery scopes of practice, update national clinical guidelines and essential medicines lists, and revise health monitoring and reporting systems to include and track key maternal health interventions.

To read the open access article, click here.