Healthy Pregnancy Spacing (HPS)
THE CHALLENGE
Recent studies in developing countries have shown that infant mortality can be reduced by up to 24 percent and under-5 mortality by up to 35 percent in families whose children are born at least three years apart. Although many developing countries have family planning policies and a range of natural and modern family planning methods are available, the benefits of adequate birth spacing to mothers, children, men, communities and civil society are not sufficiently understood. Fertility rates thus remain high and the unmet need for birth spacing in developing countries ranges between 22 to 78 percent.
KEY INTERVENTIONS
Advocacy and partnership are essential to increase awareness about the benefits of pregnancy spacing; promote integration of pregnancy spacing in countries child health policies and at all health encounters for mothers and children (e.g., antenatal care and immunization visits); develop training curriculum, job aids, and tools for health workers; and implement systems for monitoring the uptake of services.
COUNTRIES
BASICS is currently providing technical assistance for healthy pregnancy spacing in the following countries—
