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Rating maternal and neonatal health services in developing countries
Rodolfo A Bulatao1, John A Ross
1Independent Consultant, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910, USA. Bulatoa@erols.com
Bulletin of the World Health Organization
|October 16, 2002
Summary
Maternal and neonatal health services in developing countries are deficient, especially for rural women needing emergency obstetric care. Improving these essential health services requires better implementation, training, and health promotion, not just policy changes.
Area of Science:
- Global Health
- Maternal and Child Health
- Developing Economies
Background:
- Maternal and neonatal health services are critical for global health outcomes.
- Significant disparities exist in healthcare access and quality within developing nations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the current state of maternal and neonatal health services across 49 developing countries.
- To identify specific areas of strength and weakness in healthcare delivery.
Main Methods:
- Expert ratings (10-25 per country) on a 0-100 scale assessed services at health centers and district hospitals.
- Evaluations covered routine and emergency care, family planning, antenatal and delivery services, and program support elements.
Main Results:
- The average service rating was 56, with considerable variation between countries, particularly in rural access.
- Immunization, antenatal care aspects, and breastfeeding counseling received relatively higher ratings.
- Emergency obstetric care in rural areas, safe abortion services, and HIV counseling were notably weak.
Conclusions:
- Maternal health programs in developing countries show significant deficiencies, disproportionately affecting rural populations.
- Rural women face particular disadvantages in accessing emergency obstetric care.
- Inadequate HIV counseling/testing and limited safe abortion access affect both rural and urban women, necessitating improved service implementation and support.