Abstract

PIP: This article presents an analysis of baseline data from four Mothercare projects that provided community-based maternal and child health services in rural Inquisivi, Bolivia; rural Quetzaltenango, Guatemala; rural Tanjungsari in West Java, Indonesia; and Bauchi state, Nigeria. Each project relied on different interventions. All women faced economic, psychological, sociocultural, technical, and administrative barriers in accessing services. The Safe Motherhood Initiative found that people's medical decisions were often based on nonmedical reasons and cultural appropriateness, and that the medical community needs to recognize their competitors in alternative health systems. Maternal and child survival are dependent upon recognition of the problem, decision making about care, access to care, and quality of care. A well-functioning program includes policy formulation, training, IEC, management and supervision, logistics and supplies, and research, monitoring, and evaluation. Study surveys were conducted during the early 1990s. In Bolivia, findings indicate that perinatal mortality declined during 1990-93 to 38/1000 births and fewer mothers died due to pregnancy or childbirth. Family planning use increased from 0 to 27%. The Bolivian project worked to strengthen women's groups. Findings from the Guatemalan project indicate that referrals from traditional birth attendants (TBAs) increased in both the implementation and the comparison areas, but significantly more so in the implementation area. Perinatal mortality among referred women decreased in both areas (from 22.2% to 11.8% in the intervention area). Indonesian results indicate that referrals to birthing centers by TBAs increased from 19% to 62%. Maternal mortality was halved; perinatal mortality declined to 35.8/1000. In Nigeria, maternal mortality declined among all causes.