This study addresses a notable gap in maternal and child health and family planning research by investigating the programmatic potential to promote healthy fertility practices in the context of a newborn health program. Healthy fertility practices include optimal birth spacing in postpartum women and delaying first birth in newly married women. We define “healthy fertility practices” to include use of family planning methods in newly married women to delay pregnancy until women are at least 20 years of age, and in postpartum women within one month of giving birth or unplanned abortion to achieve birth interval of at least 36 months. The program components to promote these practices may include: - family planning counseling to postpartum and newly married women
- provision of information on benefits of breastfeeding and risks of short birth intervals
- provision of a balanced contraceptive method mix including side effect management
The study involves formative research and will inform the development of an intervention package and design of a study to determine the impact of increasing the duration of birth spacing on neonatal mortality rates, which would serve as an additional preventive intervention for promoting maternal and newborn health. The eventual goal is to implement this package and assess its impact on neonatal mortality and other outcomes in a cluster-randomized community intervention trial. Investigators: |
