Newborn postnatal follow-up home visits

The postnatal period (the first six weeks after birth) is critical to the health and survival of a mother and her newborn. Sixty percent of maternal and 75% of newborn deaths occur during the first postpartum week. Lack of care in this period may result in death or disability as well as missed opportunities to promote healthy behaviour, affecting women, newborns and children. As around 94% of the mothers in your community deliver at home, it is important to provide three home visits for postnatal care for normal weight babies at the critical times and arrange for the mother to come to the health post at six weeks for the fourth visit. You will need to make one extra home visit for low birth weight babies.

During these visits your role as a Health Extension Practitioner is to undertake a range of tasks aimed at ensuring the health of the baby and mother, and to do what you can to support the mother’s care of her new baby. The following section outlines your main tasks during the first six weeks after the baby’s birth. You have learned this in more detail in the Postnatal Care Module.