Reaching Mothers and Babies with Early Postnatal Home Visits: The implementation realities of achieving high coverage in large-scale programs

This research report explores the impact of postnatal home visits in select regions of Nepal and Bangladesh that were undertake from 2000-2012 during Save the Children’s Saving Newborn Lives (SNL) programme. Neonatal deaths account for an astounding percentage of all deaths among children under five. Reducing global child mortality rates is key to achieving Millennium Development Goal 4.

In 2009, the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund released a Joint Statement that recommended home visits as a strategy to reduce neonatal deaths based on notable research. Thus this research examines not only the validity of this within the SNL programme, but also any associations between three factors: home visits during pregnancy, birth place, and birth notification. By better understanding these associations, it is hoped that programme design and planning will improve.