The Power of Pregnancy Clubs: New Research on Group Antenatal Care

The Power of Pregnancy Clubs: New Research on Group Antenatal Care

Many women in low- and middle-income countries face gaps in access to respectful, high-quality antenatal care (ANC): They often do not receive the recommended services for a healthy pregnancy and experience poor quality of care when they do. Heavy workloads, staffing shortages, and other pressures create compassion fatigue in health providers, translating to disrespectful treatment of pregnant women.

Alternative ANC models are needed to better meet the needs and expectations of pregnant women. To this end, MSH began a collaborative design process with pregnant women, family members, midwives, community health workers, and health providers to develop and test a model of group ANC, or “pregnancy clubs.” The model aims to improve maternal and newborn health by providing a safe space where pregnant women can share experiences, receive essential health information from a midwife or other skilled provider, and track and better understand the progress of their pregnancies.

In this webinar, our colleagues share the results of a recent evaluation of pregnancy clubs in Kenya to better understand the effects and acceptability of group ANC.

Presented by:

Shafia Rashid, Principal Technical Advisor, MSH

Kate Ramsey, Senior Principal Technical Advisor, MSH

Priyam Sharda, Design Research Lead, Scope

Moderated by:

Cara Endyke-Doran, Principal Technical Advisor, MSH