Network title Choices and Challenges in Changing Childbirth Research Program
Research team Regional Coordinator: Jocelyn DeJong
Country Coordinators: Tamar Kabakian-Khasholian (Lebanon), Karima Khalil (Egypt), Laura Wick (Palestine) & Hyam Bashour (Syria).
Country Teams: 11 team members in Lebanon, 5 members in Egypt, 5 members in Palestine & 5 members in Syria.
Collaborators: selected AUB researchers & international resource people from the UK.
Research Program Objectives The CCCC aims at building scientific evidence on childbirth practices and at identifying effective ways to improve the safety of maternity services and women’s experience with the received care.
Research Timeline 2001 to present
Summary of research program CCCC researchers use qualitative and quantitative approaches, including in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, policy analysis, cross-sectional surveys and randomized controlled trials. The main findings indicate that the Lebanese health care system is dominated by the private sector, there are no requirements for continuous medical education and uniform standards of obstetric care are not adopted. The provision of prenatal care does not differentiate between high and low risk pregnancies; the content of postpartum care is not standardized and disregards women’s psychosocial problems. Evidence suggests that a number of ineffective or harmful practices are used routinely and there are problems with facility preparedness for emergency obstetric care. The rising trend of c-section is associated with client payment schemes and provider convenience factors. Women are not involved in the care process; postpartum support for breastfeeding and health problems is absent; women are misinformed about c-sections recoveries. Intervention studies highlight what works in the Lebanese context: Providing women with supportive audiovisual messages and a hotline improve postpartum wellbeing; written materials improve satisfaction and use of postpartum services; informing women on best practices and enhancing their communication skills increases their demand for evidence based services; obstetric drills are effective in identifying gaps in the system.
PDF Summary Funding sources Wellcome Trust and UNFPA
Related Publications Contact
Jocelyn DeJong &
Tamar Kabakian-Khasholian