Postnatal care: increasing coverage, equity, and quality

Despite impressive reductions in maternal and under-5 mortality rates, neonatal mortality reduction continues to lag behind. Neonates account for an increasing share of child deaths, now reaching almost half (45%) of the burden of under-5 mortality. Despite the critical importance of this period for both maternal and child survival, postnatal care consistently has among the lowest coverage of interventions on the continuum of maternal and child care, with a reported median for the Countdown countries at just 28%. This comment piece urges stakeholders to pay greater attention to improve both access to and quality of postnatal care services.

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Sacks E, Langlois E. Postnatal care: increasing coverage, equity, and quality. Lancet Global Health. 2016;4(7):442. doi:10.1016/S2214-109X(16)30092-4