Abstract

According to World Health Organization (WHO), globally 2.4 million children died in the first month of life in 2020. Most neonatal deaths (75%) occur during the first week of life. In 2019, about 1 million newborns died within the first 24 hours. A large proportion of maternal and neonatal deaths occur during the first 48 hours of delivery. Postnatal care (PNC) service utilization plays an important role to reduce maternal and neonatal deaths. In Nepal, the proportion of mothers attending three PNC visits as per the protocol is 25.1 percent in Fiscal Year (FY) 2077/78. In Nepal, Madhesh and Gandaki Province has the lowest PNC use as per protocol in FY 77/78. Several factors hinder the PNC service utilization however the underlying causes remain unclear despite the ongoing efforts of the Government of Nepal (GoN). The major objective of this study was to assess the facilitators and barriers for the uptake of recommended PNC services among women of Baglung district. It is a cross-sectional study. Data collection was done in two randomly selected Rural/Municipalities using multistage cluster sampling technique in January 2024. The findings from this study are useful for safe motherhood program of Gandaki province targeting interventions that are conducive to overcoming PNC utilization barriers. This will ultimately support to increase the PNC utilization as per the protocol of GoN.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

Funding Statement

Yes

Author Declarations

I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained.

Not Applicable

The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below:

Ethical approval for this study was obtained from the Institutional Review Committee (IRC) of the Institute of Medicine (IOM), Tribhuvan University, Nepal. Approval Reference Number: 329(6-11)E2 080/081.

I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals.

Not Applicable

I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance).

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I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable.

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Data Availability

All relevant data are within the manuscript.

AcronymsANCAntenatal CareCSCesarean SectionFWDFamily Welfare DivisionFYFiscal YearGoNGovernment of NepalHBMHealth Belief ModelMMRMaternal Mortality RatiomhealthMobile HealthMoHPMinistry of Health and PopulatonMPDSRMaternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and ResponseNDHSNepal Demographic Health SurveyNHSSNepal Health Sector StrategyPNCPostnatal CareRMRural MunicipalitySBASkilled Birth AttendantSDGSustainable Development GoalsWHOWorld Health Organization