Postnatal Care of Newborns and Mothers in Developing Countries

At baseline, a very few newborns born at home in any of the six countries (range: 2% in Bangladesh to 14% in Bolivia) received care within three days. The baseline coverage for mothers receiving postpartum care was similarly low. Care was defined as either a clinic-visit or a home-visit by a trained or skilled healthcare worker. The content of the care varied from country to country and even in different implementation areas within the same country. There were significant increases in the proportion of newborns receiving care from baseline to end-of-project in five of the six countries. For example, the rate doubled (14% to 30%) in Bolivia and increased 16-fold (2% to 32%) in Bangladesh within 18 months or less of programme interventions. However, at least two-thirds of all newborns still received no care within the first three days of their birth in all countries at end-of-project.