Postnatal Care

Samson Udho
MSc, BSc
udhson10@gmail.com
 Outline
 Definition

 Background

 Postnatal Visits

 Trends

 Determinants

 Postnatal Care Best Practices: WHO Guidelines

General
Newborn
Mother
 Definition
 Postnatal care (PNC) is the care offered to the mother
and the newborn up to 6 weeks (42 days) after
childbirth.

 The postnatal period can also be referred to as:

Postpartum period
Puerperium
The 4th Trimester
 Background
 Historically, the global maternal health community has
largely focused on access to high quality maternity care
during pregnancy, labor and delivery.

 The postnatal or postpartum period, defined as the six

weeks following delivery, is equally important.

 Most maternal and infant deaths occur in the first month

after birth
 Almost half of postnatal maternal deaths occur within the
first 24 hours, and 66% occur during the first week.

 In 2013, 2.8 million newborns died in their first month of

life─1 million of these newborns died on the first day.

 Postnatal care reaches fewer women and newborns:

less than half of women receive a postnatal care visit
within 2 days of childbirth.
Maternal Vulnerability in Postnatal Period
Maternal Vulnerability in Postnatal Period
 Postnatal Care Periods
 PNC period can be divided into 3 programmatic time
frames:

Immediate Postnatal Period—the first four to six hours of

postnatal care

Later Postnatal Period—from six hours after childbirth to

six weeks

Extended Postnatal Period—the full one year period after

delivery,
 Postnatal Care Visits
 Provide every mother and baby a total of four postnatal
visits on:
─ First day (24 hours)
─ Day 3 (48–72 hours)
─ Between days 7–14
─ Six weeks
 Global Trends in Postnatal Care

 Global postnatal care coverage is still far from

universal.

 The median national coverage of postnatal care for

countries with available data is just 36% for postnatal
care for babies and 62% for postnatal care for
mothers.
 Inequities in Postnatal Care
 Socioeconomic status

 Education

 Income

 Geography

 Ethnicity
Best Practices: Postnatal Care for All
Mothers and Newborns
Best Practices: Postnatal Care
Newborns
Best Practices: Postnatal Care
Mothers
 Exercise: Questions
1. Define postnatal care.
2. Outline the schedules for postnatal visits?
3. Discuss the 10 WHO recommendations for postnatal care
Thank you