ArticleGlobal health action2015
What can we learn about postnatal care in Ghana if we ask the right questions? A qualitative study.
Article in Global health action, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 26 citations in OpenAlex.
- Community- based maternal and newborn interventions in Africa: Systematic review.Journal of clinical nursing · 2021Pooled it
- Effectiveness of adjunct telephone-based postnatal care on maternal and infant illness in the Greater Accra Region, Ghana: a randomized controlled trial.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2022Trial
- Quality of postnatal care for mothers and neonates in Mexico: Insights from the maternal eCohort study.PloS one · 2025Article
- How does social desirability bias influence survey-based estimates of the use of antenatal care in rural Nepal? A validation study.BMJ open · 2023Article
- Postpartum care needs assessment: women's understanding of postpartum care, practices, barriers, and educational needs.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2023Article
- Discharge instructions given to women following delivery by cesarean section in Sub-Saharan Africa: A scoping review.PLOS global public health · 2022Article
- Household Survey Measurement of Newborn Postnatal Care: Coverage, Quality Gaps, and Internal Inconsistencies in Responses.Global health, science and practice · 2021Article
- Postnatal care education in health facilities in Accra, Ghana: perspectives of mothers and providers.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2020Article
- Discordance in postnatal care between mothers and newborns: Measurement artifact or missed opportunity?Journal of global health · 2020Article
- Breastfeeding and caring for children: a qualitative exploration of the experiences of mothers with physical impairments in Ghana.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2020Article
- What is meant by validity in maternal and newborn health measurement? A conceptual framework for understanding indicator validation.PloS one · 2020Article
- Home visits by community health workers for pregnant mothers and newborns: coverage plateau in Malawi.Journal of global health · 2019Article
- Postnatal care in Rwanda: facilitators and barriers to postnatal care attendance and recommendations to improve participation.Journal of global health reports · 2019Article
- Maternal postnatal care in Bangladesh: a closer look at specific content and coverage by different types of providers.Journal of global health reports · 2019Article
- Validation studies for population-based intervention coverage indicators: design, analysis, and interpretation.Journal of global health · 2018Article
- Program assessment of efforts to improve the quality of postpartum counselling in health centers in Morogoro region, Tanzania.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2018Article
- Women's recall of maternal and newborn interventions received in the postnatal period: a validity study in Kenya and Swaziland.Journal of global health · 2018Article
- Postnatal care for newborns in Bangladesh: The importance of health-related factors and location.Journal of global health · 2017Article
- Evidence from household surveys for measuring coverage of newborn care practices.Journal of global health · 2017Article
- Barriers to utilization of postnatal care at village level in Klaten district, central Java Province, Indonesia.BMC health services research · 2017Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThere are increasing efforts to monitor progress in maternal and neonatal care, with household surveys the main mode of data collection. Postnatal care (PNC) is considered a priority indicator yet few countries report on it, and the need to improve the construct validity associated with PNC questions is recognized.
objectivesTo determine women's knowledge of what happens to the baby after delivery, women's comprehension of terms and question phrasing related to PNC, and issues with recall periods.
designForty qualitative interviews and four focus group discussions were conducted with mothers, and 10 interviews with health workers in rural Ghana. Data were collected on knowledge and recall of postnatal health checks and language used to describe these health checks.
resultsMothers required specific probing using appropriate language to report postnatal checks. They only had adequate knowledge of postnatal checks, which were easily observed or required asking them a question. Respondents reported that health workers rarely communicated with mothers about what they were doing, and most women did not know the purpose of the equipment used during health checks, such as why a thermometer was being used. Knowledge of neonatal checks in the first hours after a facility delivery was low if the mother and child were separated, or if the mother was tired or weak. Many women reported that they could remember events clearly, but long recall periods affected reporting for some, especially those who had multiple checks or for those with no problems.
conclusionsDirect questions about PNC or health checks are likely to underestimate coverage. Validity of inferences can be enhanced by using appropriate verbal probes during surveys on commonly performed checks that are clear and visible to the mother.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.