Utilization of Recommended Postnatal Care Services in Baglung District: Barriers, Facilitators, and Implications for Safe Motherhood Programs--A Cross-sectional Study

According to World Health Organization (WHO), globally 2.4 million children died in the first month of life in 2020. Most neonatal deaths (75%) occur during the first week of life. In 2019, about 1 million newborns died within the first 24 hours. A large proportion of maternal and neonatal deaths occur during the first 48 hours of delivery. Postnatal care (PNC) service utilization plays an important role to reduce maternal and neonatal deaths. In Nepal, the proportion of mothers attending three PNC visits as per the protocol is 25.1 percent in Fiscal Year (FY) 2077/78. In Nepal, Madhesh and Gandaki Province has the lowest PNC use as per protocol in FY 77/78. Several factors hinder the PNC service utilization however the underlying causes remain unclear despite the ongoing efforts of the Government of Nepal (GoN). The major objective of this study was to assess the facilitators and barriers for the uptake of recommended PNC services among women of Baglung district. It is a cross-sectional study. Data collection was done in two randomly selected Rural/Municipalities using multistage cluster sampling technique in January 2024. The findings from this study are useful for safe motherhood program of Gandaki province targeting interventions that are conducive to overcoming PNC utilization barriers. This will ultimately support to increase the PNC utilization as per the protocol of GoN.