The Impact of a Perinatal Reproductive Health Program in Honduras

To improve perinatal service delivery at the Hospital Materno-Infantil in Tegucigalpa the Honduran Social Security System created a reproductive health program with five main components: a prenatal education program a reproductive health counseling service an expansion of contraceptive options offered in the postpartum period a postpartum clinic for women to visit on the 40th day after birth and an improved perinatal data collection system. The prenatal education program attended by approximately half of the more than 6000 women who delivered at the hospital during the 15-month period significantly increased the womens knowledge about such topics as reproductive risk factors warning signs during pregnancy breastfeeding and infant care. Rates of acceptance of postpartum family planning increased significantly and rapidly....Over a 10-month period the number of women seeking family planning and reproductive health counseling increased from 33 per month to 296 per month. (SUMMARY IN FRE AND SPA) (EXCERPT)