Bibliographic information
GuidelineWHO recommendations on maternal and newborn care for a positive postnatal experience.
Year of Publication2022
Issuing InstitutionWorld Health Organization
Recommendation
New
Prior to discharging women and newborns after birth from the health facility to the home, health workers should assess the following criteria to improve maternal and newborn outcomes:
- the woman’s and baby’s physical well-being and the woman’s emotional well-being;
- the skills and confidence of the woman to care for herself and the skills and confidence of the parents
and caregivers to care for the newborn; and
- the home environment and other factors that may influence the ability to provide care for the woman
and the newborn in the home, and care-seeking behaviour
Recommended
Notes and Remarks
Remarks
- In making this recommendation, the Guideline Development Group considered discharge criteria for women and term newborns without complications described in policy and research documents as identified in a scoping review (91).
- These criteria should be assessed to guide health workers to identify and manage problems before discharge, to provide information as per the individual woman, newborn and family needs, and to establish links to follow-up care and additional support that may be required.
- Effective counselling and communication strategies, using culturally acceptable methods that respect and facilitate shared decision-making, are integral to the assessment of discharge criteria.