Evaluating antenatal and postnatal care around the globe

Antenatal (ANC) and postnatal (PNC) care for women—crucial for ensuring healthy pregnancies, safe deliveries, and healthy mothers and babies—is the focus of several new studies involving researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

The four studies, published in the March 2016 issue of the British Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology (BJOG), examined topics such as successes and challenges of several ANC and PNC care delivery models in different settings around the world and how to integrate such care with overall maternal and child health services.

Both the BJOG “Editor’s Choice” column and a BJOG commentary highlighted the papers.

The studies resulted from work completed by Harvard Chan School’s Women and Health Initiative (WHI) under a project titled “Adding Content to Contact.” Several Harvard Chan researchers were study authors—including WHI coordinator Ana Langer and Rifat Atun, professor of global health systems—as well as colleagues from the World Health Organization, Instituto de Cooperación Social Integrare, the University of Central Lancashire, and Centro Rosarino de Estudios Perinatales.