Quality maternity care for every woman, everywhere: a call to action

Abstract

To improve maternal health requires action to ensure quality maternal health care for all women and girls, and to guarantee access to care for those outside the system. In this paper, we highlight some of the most pressing issues in maternal health and ask: what steps can be taken in the next 5 years to catalyse action toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goal target of less than 70 maternal deaths per 100 000 livebirths by 2030, with no single country exceeding 140? What steps can be taken to ensure that high-quality maternal health care is prioritised for every woman and girl everywhere? We call on all stakeholders to work together in securing a healthy, prosperous future for all women. National and local governments must be supported by development partners, civil society, and the private sector in leading efforts to improve maternal-perinatal health. This effort means dedicating needed policies and resources, and sustaining implementation to address the many factors influencing maternal health-care provision and use. Five priority actions emerge for all partners: prioritise quality maternal health services that respond to the local specificities of need, and meet emerging challenges; promote equity through universal coverage of quality maternal health services, including for the most vulnerable women; increase the resilience and strength of health systems by optimising the health workforce, and improve facility capability; guarantee sustainable finances for maternal-perinatal health; and accelerate progress through evidence, advocacy, and accountability.

Factors that influence the provision of intrapartum and postnatal care by skilled birth attendants in low- and middle-income countries: a qualitative evidence synthesis

“…The sub-Saharan Africa region was reported to have the highest number of maternal deaths (510 deaths per 100,000 live births), while South Asia, Oceania, and the Caribbean each had 190 deaths per 100,000 live births. Whereas attention at the policy level was given to increasing access to skilled care at birth, this was not matched with improvements in the quality of care available at health facilities, and this may have contributed to the slow decline in maternal mortality (Campbell 2016, Koblinsky 2016; Graham 2012). …”

“…Their third goal aims to reduce global maternal mortality ratio to fewer than 70 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births by 2030. The provision of quality maternal care, delivered through a resilient health system with well-staffed health facilities that are capable of managing routine and emergency maternity care, has been identified among the priorities for action over the next five years (Koblinsky 2016). …”

Impact of Chlorhexidine Cord Cleansing on Mortality, Omphalitis and Cord Separation Time Among Facility-Born Babies in Nepal and Bangladesh

“…In high-mortality settings, however, policymakers need further guidance on whether or not to extend their emerging chlorhexidine cleansing programs to facility births. Such guidance is critical as the proportion of facility births in many low-resource areas of South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa is increasing rapidly, without sufficient evidence that survival rates among these babies are improving [7]. In this brief report, we pool data from our two large population-based trials in Nepal and Bangladesh, and summarize the impact of chlorhexidine for cord cleansing on mortality, omphalitis, and cord separation time among babies born in first-level rural health facilities.…”

Diálogo com equipes de Saúde da Família sobre parto no pré-natal: uma investigação comunicativa

“…É preciso que os serviços públicos e privados de saúde obstétrica, os profissionais de saúde e a sociedade civil se unam em busca de melhores condições de assistência materno-infantil, para sejam criadas e implementadas políticas públicas de saúde que qualifiquem os serviços e atendam às necessidades das mulheres de modo universal e equânime (inclusive para as mulheres mais vulneráveis), aumentando a força de trabalho, capacitando continuamente o profissional, garantindo recursos financeiros sustentáveis, com o uso das melhores evidências para informar à prática clínica com foco nos direitos da mulher e agindo com responsabilidade ética (46).…”