Obstructed Labor Does Not End at Delivery: Strengthening Postpartum Care Following Prolonged/Obstructed Labor
Posted onIn June 2017, at the 31st International Confederation of Midwives Triennial Congress in Toronto, Canada, the United States Agency for International Development–supported Fistula Care Plus (FC+) project at EngenderHealth convened a panel discussion co-sponsored by Bard Medical on postpartum care following prolonged/obstructed labor (P/OL)…read more
Integration and Equity in Fistula Care: Goals for GMNHC
Posted onHow to Measure the Quality of Facility-based Labor and Delivery Care in Sub-Saharan Africa
Posted onYesterday, quality measures for maternal health were published in PLoS ONE in an attempt to fill the need for better definitions and tools for measuring and improving quality in labor and delivery (L&D) care. Over the past decade, we have seen a profound shift in the use of maternal health services. Now, more than ever, women are delivering in health facilities, with an estimated 64% of women in developing countries and 51% of women in the 69 poorest countries giving birth in facilities in 2012. Studies have shown that maternal mortality can stagnate even as facility deliveries increase rapidly, most likely due to poor quality of care. It is most crucial to improve information about the quality of L&D care. In order to fill this need, we surveyed global maternal and newborn care experts to build a consensus on the dimensions of quality of care in the intrapartum and immediate postpartum period… read more
Ending Preventable Maternal Mortality: Bridges to Morbidity Reduction
Posted onMany averted maternal deaths may still result in maternal morbidity, including severe and/or chronic conditions. The Fistula Care Plus (FC+) Project at EngenderHealth works to help prevent and treat some of the most serious maternal morbidities, including obstetric fistula…read more
New Research to Shorten Recovery Time for Fistula Repair
Posted onFor women living with obstetric fistula who constantly leak urine or feces, the opportunity to undergo surgical repair can be life-changing. However, treatment itself can bring many challenges, including a long post-operative recuperation in the hospital. One of the key factors that determines the length of post-operative inpatient stay is how long a woman needs bladder catheterization, a small tube inserted into the bladder through the urethra to drain urine, after surgery. New research has just been published to define appropriate catheterization times, shortening a woman’s length of stay… read more