Operations research to add postpartum family planning to maternal and neonatal health to improve birth spacing in Sylhet District, Bangladesh

Publish Date: August 2013
Author: Salahuddin Ahmed, Maureen Norton, Emma Williams, Saifuddin Ahmed, Rasheduzzaman Shah, Nazma Begum, Jaime Mungia, Amnesty Lefevre, Ahmed Al-Kabir, Peter J Winch, Catharine McKaig, Abdullah H Baqui
Language: English

The journal Global Health: Science and Practice has published an article entitled “Operations research to add postpartum family planning to maternal and neonatal health to improve birth spacing in Sylhet District, Bangladesh.”

Co-authored by MCHIP staff,  the article describes the intervention package and evaluation design of a study conducted in a rural district of Bangladesh to evaluate the effects of an integrated, community-based maternal and newborn health and postpartum family planning program (PPFP) on contraceptive use and birth-interval lengths. The study integrated family planning counseling within a package of five community health worker (CHW) household visits to pregnant and postpartum women, while a community mobilizer led community meetings on the importance of PPFP and pregnancy spacing for maternal and child health.

Results showed that women and their families generally did not perceive birth spacing as a priority, and most recently delivered women were not using contraception. This article provides helpful intervention-design details for program managers intending to add PPFP services to community-based MNH programs. For instance, preliminary findings indicate the package of five CHW visits is feasible and does not compromise worker performance, and that adding doorstep delivery of contraceptives to the intervention package may enhance impact.

To read the full abstract or open access article, click here.