Home-based maternal records: guidelines for development, adaptation and evaluation

Abstract

The success of the child growth chart in reducing levels of infant morbidity and mortality-chiefly by raising awareness of the contributory factors-has been the principal impetus to the development of the WHO prototype home-based maternal record. This record takes the form of a card, retained by the woman herself, on which information about her pregnancies, the births of her children, and her health between pregnancies can be recorded. A pre-eminent consideration in its design was that it should be useful to the individual to whom it refers, rather than exclusively to health professionals. It was also seen as essential that the record should be adaptable for used in societies whith widely differing health needs, treatment facilities, and levels of literacy

This book is a comprehensive guide to all aspects of the development, adaptation and use of home-based maternal records in the context of primary health care, and draws heavily on the results of a WHO collaborative study. Other topics covered include the additional information that may be incorporated into records, such as health education messages and nutritional advice, and training of health personnel in using the records and evaluating the information they yield