The World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN’s Special Programme on Human Reproduction (HRP) have collaborated on a groundbreaking series in BMJ Global Health, shedding light on the significance of a positive postnatal care experience for women and newborns. This initiative consists of six articles that underscore the necessity of adopting a rights-based approach and comprehending the perspectives of women, parents, and health workers to enhance the quality of postnatal care universally.
The series advocates for the provision of essential postnatal care for all women and newborns, including the identification of potential health concerns and the facilitation of access to necessary services. Emphasizing the importance of postnatal check-ups six weeks after delivery, the series aims to promote healthy lifestyles, disease detection and prevention, as well as access to sexual and reproductive health, including postpartum family planning.
One of the papers, Stakeholder’s perspectives of postnatal discharge: a qualitative evidence synthesis, brings attention to the crucial period when patients are discharged from health facilities. It stresses the need for adequate support to ensure a smooth transition to home care, highlighting the perspectives of women and midwives on the challenges encountered during this process.
Another paper, Integrating international policy standards in the implementation of postnatal care: a rapid review, underscores the alignment of existing international legal and political documents with the WHO recommendations, presenting an opportunity for advocates and program managers to create an enabling environment for high-quality postnatal care, in line with human rights obligations.
The series also includes the Postnatal care commentary, which links the 2022 guideline with existing WHO recommendations on antenatal and intrapartum care, signaling an all-encompassing vision for the comprehensive care of women and newborns before, during, and after pregnancy.
The findings from these papers have paved the way for the development of an integrated toolkit to bolster the implementation of WHO recommendations on antenatal and postnatal care at national and sub-national levels, set to be released in early 2024.
Moreover, this series follows the Lancet Global Health and eClinicalMedicine Series on maternal health during the perinatal period and beyond, emphasizing the interconnectedness of maternal health with a person’s environment and experiences before, during, and after pregnancy, advocating for a holistic approach to maternal and newborn health.
In essence, this series serves as a beacon of hope, aiming to empower women and newborns worldwide by advocating for a positive postnatal care experience and laying the groundwork for comprehensive, rights-based postnatal care for all.
