Productivity, family planning and reproductive health in Burkina Faso 2013-2014

(1)Quantitative data from a prospective cohort study of 839 pregnant and/or postpartum women who were between seven months gestation and three months postpartum at recruitment. Participants were interviewed three times over a nine month period. The cohort is a population-representative sample of parturient women in the commune of Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso. Data were collected relating to socio-demographic characteristics; household assets; reproductive history; women’s work and occupation including both income-generating and non-income generating activities; birth and postpartum preparedness; characteristics of the index delivery; contraceptive history and current use; fertility preferences; health-related functioning (ability to carry out usual daily activities); haemoglobin level; mental health measured through the K10 scale; time use diary; household food security scale. (2) qualitative data (transcripts of 56 in-depth interviews and 3 focus group discussions) from a nested cohort of women recruited from within PopDev, and their husband/partners. Key themes discussed in these qualitative data are women’s work, use of family planning, and the factors that facilitated or were challenging during their return to work during the postpartum period. Interviews with policy makers and key stakeholders also conducted Our previous ESRC-funded research in Burkina Faso showed the adverse effects of serious illnesses during pregnancy and the high costs of care on women's lives. The aim of this new project is to gain a detailed understanding of how the arrival of a new baby affects women’s productivity and how family planning and other reproductive health services can help women returning to good health and work. This multi-disciplinary project includes three sub-studies. Sub-study A is a secondary analysis of cross-sectional survey data collected in Burkina Faso from 2001-2006. Sub-study B is a cohort study of women identified in the community during pregnancy and the first trimester after childbirth. Over a period of nine months, women will be interviewed three times about their health, preparations they made for childbirth and the period after childbirth, changes in paid work (or education) and domestic work, fertility intention and contraceptive needs. Interviewers will measure women's blood pressure and whether they have anaemia. In sub-study C, qualitative methods will document how women and their family make decisions on work, childbirth and family planning. Sub-study C will re-interview a sub-sample of cohort women, observe some of them in their daily activities, and interview men, policy makers as well as health care providers.