Maternity care for women who deliver at the Monkey Bay Community Hospital

.................................................................................................................................... 2 List of abbreviations.................................................................................................................. 3 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 4 Material and methods ................................................................................................................ 6 The Republic of Malawi ........................................................................................................6 Health Care System................................................................................................................6 Health of Neonates and Mothers............................................................................................7 Mangochi District ..................................................................................................................7 Monkey Bay Health Zone ......................................................................................................8 Monkey Bay Community Hospital ........................................................................................8 ICEIDA and the Monkey Bay Health Zone...........................................................................9 Maternity Care at MBCH.......................................................................................................9 Maternal Care National Policy...............................................................................................9 The Study Group..................................................................................................................10 Data Collection ....................................................................................................................11 Analysis................................................................................................................................11 Definitions............................................................................................................................11 Measurements ......................................................................................................................11 Ethical Approval ..................................................................................................................12 Results ..................................................................................................................................... 13 Characteristics of the Study Group ......................................................................................13 Antenatal Care .....................................................................................................................14 Admission for Delivery........................................................................................................16 Delivery................................................................................................................................18 Third Stage of Labor ............................................................................................................19 Breastfeeding Practices ........................................................................................................20 Disposition ...........................................................................................................................20 Discussion ............................................................................................................................... 21 Where Do the Women Come From?....................................................................................22 General Characteristics ........................................................................................................23 Antenatal Care .....................................................................................................................23 Anemia.................................................................................................................................24 Iron Supplementation...........................................................................................................25 Transfusions.........................................................................................................................25 Hookworms..........................................................................................................................26 Malaria .................................................................................................................................26 Tetanus Immunization..........................................................................................................27 Syphilis ................................................................................................................................27 Admission for Delivery........................................................................................................28 Delivery................................................................................................................................28 Third Stage of Labor ............................................................................................................29 Breastfeeding Practices ........................................................................................................30 Discharge .............................................................................................................................30 Limitations of the study .......................................................................................................30 Conclusion ...........................................................................................................................31 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................. 33 References ............................................................................................................................... 34 Appendix 1 .............................................................................................................................. 37 Appendix 2 .............................................................................................................................. 40 Appendix 3 .............................................................................................................................. 43