Maternal & Newborn Health

The Sustainable Development Goals include the ambitious targets of ending all preventable maternal and newborn deaths by 2030.  While progress is being made, delivery of key interventions is far from complete.  PMA launched two survey projects in Ethiopia to generate new information on key maternal and newborn health indicators; the PMA Maternal and Newborn Health (MNH) Survey launched in 2016 in Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ region (SNNPR), one of the 11 administrative regions in Ethiopia, and its successor, PMA-Ethiopia, launched in 2019.

2016  MNH Survey

The longitudinal household survey was designed to collect information on knowledge, practice and coverage of MNH services.

The study was implemented in 44 enumeration areas in the SNNPR region.  A census of all households was conducted to identify all currently pregnant women who self-reported a gestational age of six months or more.  Women were interviewed at seven days, six weeks, and six months after birth.

Results showed that while overall coverage of services was increasing, the comprehensiveness of services was low. Few women reported receiving critical components of care. The successful implementation and results from the study informed the expansion of the grant into PMA Ethiopia.

 

2019 PMA-Ethiopia Survey

PMA Ethiopia is a survey project designed to generate important data on a variety of reproductive, maternal, and newborn health (RMNH) indicators that can inform national and regional governments. The project is implementing cross-sectional, longitudinal, and facility-based surveys with a focus on measuring the comprehensiveness of RMNH care services and the barriers and facilitators to such care.

PMA Ethiopia collects data on family planning, antenatal, delivery, postnatal, and newborn care, including nutrition and vaccinations, in addition to gathering data on relevant individual, partner, and community characteristics that may affect receipt of care.

Building upon the success of the 2016 survey, the 2019 survey has added several new features:

  • Measurements on reproductive empowerment and community norms and how behaviors and perceptions differ among women in various life stages
  • Measurements on respectful maternity care
  • Measurements on health facility readiness and quality of care for maternal and reproductive services
  • Formation of an advisory board chaired by the Federal Ministry of Health’s State Minister of Health that serves in an advisory role on priority measurements and using findings to improve policies and programs at the national and regional levels.

 


For more on the studies on Maternal and Newborn Health:

 

Request Access to Datasets                About PMA Ethiopia          

View Survey Results Summary

Survey Results Summaries

PMA uses innovative mobile technology to support low-cost, rapid-turnaround surveys monitoring key health and development indicators. Surveys are completed by resident enumerators, uploaded to a central server via a mobile data network, cleaned and analyzed. Results are disseminated shortly after.

Country Survey Results Brief Indicators Report
Ethiopia Cohort Two Six-Months and One-Year Postpartum Surveys, 2021-2023 English
Ethiopia PMA, Zero Dose Immunization, 2023 English
Ethiopia PMA Ethiopia, Variation in Person-Centered Maternity Care, 2020 English
Ethiopia PMA Ethiopia, Child Health Disparities English
Ethiopia PMA, Essential Newborn Care Status in Ethiopia, 2022 English
Ethiopia PMA, Cross-Sectional & Cohort 2 Baseline, 2021-2022 English English
Ethiopia Cohort 1 Six-months and One-year Postpartum, 2019-2021 English
Ethiopia Ethiopia 2019 Regional Results English
Ethiopia Tigray 2019 Results English
Ethiopia SNNPR 2019 Results English

Research in Maternal & Newborn Health

83%

of women in the sample in the SNNP region of Ethiopia received at least one antenatal care visit during pregnancy, and 53% had at least 4 antenatal care visits

Publications

PMA has a variety of publications including briefs, reports and overview documents  that may be used to inform health policy and programming decisions. Listed below are publications authored by PMA faculty, students, staff, and partners that draw upon PMA data. 

For a full list of publications that use PMA data, please visit our Google Scholars page.

Click here to view our survey results summaries.