hould birth preparedness and complication readiness (BPCR) interventions be scaled up in developing countries.

ABSTRACT

This meta-analysis aimed to put together evidence on effectiveness of birth preparedness and complication readiness (BPCR) interventions on maternal and neonatal mortality. BPCR activities cover antenatal, intranatal, postnatal and neonatal periods with the strategy to inform mothers about location of emergency services, potential occurrence of obstetric complications and signs of complications, encourage the mother to take decisions before the onset of labour and to save money needed to pay for services and, finally, be able to take decisions during an emergency or complications.1 The intervention was BPCR, which could be any individual intervention or any of the above components combined, received by pregnant women residing in developing nations. In the comparator group were women who did not receive any BPCR interventions. The primary outcomes were maternal mortality ratio (MMR) and neonatal mortality rates (NMR) while the secondary outcomes were process indicators such as use of skilled services, and hygienic practices in the home. The review included randomized controlled trials; the level of randomization was either at the individual or at the cluster level. Articles published in French or English language were considered. Major search engines were used to look for relevant articles. Finally, 14 studies were selected and the quality ascertainment was done using McMaster Quality Assessment Tool. Meta-analysis was done to combine relative risks (RR), and a random effects model was used. Data were reanalysed on the basis of the intention-to-treat principle. Combinations