Quality of antenatal and delivery care before and after the implementation of a prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission programme in Côte d'Ivoire.
OBJECTIVE
To assess whether implementation of a prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT) programme in Côte d'Ivoire improved the quality of antenatal and delivery care services.


METHODS
Quality of antenatal and delivery care services was assessed in five urban health facilities before (2002-2003) and after (2005) the implementation of a PMTCT programme through review of facility data; observation of antenatal consultations (n = 606 before; n = 591 after) and deliveries (n = 229 before; n = 231 after) and exit interviews of women; and interviews of health facility staff.


RESULTS
HIV testing was never proposed at baseline and was proposed to 63% of women at the first ANC visit after PMTCT implementation. The overall testing rate was 42% and 83% of tested HIV-infected pregnant women received nevirapine. In addition, inter-personal communication and confidentiality significantly improved in all health facilities. In the maternity ward, quality of obstetrical care at admission, delivery and post-partum care globally improved in all facilities after the implementation of the programme although some indicators remained poor, such as filling in the partograph directly during labour. Episiotomy rates among primiparous women dropped from 64% to 25% (P < 0.001) after PMTCT implementation. Global scores for quality of antenatal and delivery care significantly improved in all facilities after the implementation of the programme.


CONCLUSIONS
Introducing comprehensive PMTCT services can improve the quality of antenatal and delivery care in general.
Department of Microbiology, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium. tdelvaux@itg.be
Thérèse
T
Delvaux
Jean-Paul Diby
JP
Konan
Odile
O
Aké-Tano
Valérie
V
Gohou-Kouassi
Patrice Emery
PE
Bosso
Anne
A
Buvé
Carine
C
Ronsmans
D000328:Adult; D007560:Cote d'Ivoire; D036861:Delivery, Obstetric / Q000592:standards; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000635:transmission*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D018445:Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008430:Maternal-Child Health Centers / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards; D009035:Mothers; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology; D011181:Postnatal Care / Q000379:methods* / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011295:Prenatal Care / Q000379:methods* / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards; D012044:Regression Analysis