Abstract:
To assess the institutional post partum services, a sample of thirty one institutions and a
sample of sixty postnatal ward staff in government and plantation institutions were selected.
To assess the domiciliary post partum services two samples of midwives in the plantation
sector were selected , a sample of midwives to whom a questionnaire was administered (
44 and 42 pre -intervention stage and post -intervention stage respectively) and a sample for
direct observation ( 20 and 16 in the pre-intervention and post- intervention stages,
respectively). Data collection techniques used in this study comprised primary data
collection, a questionnaire survey ( interviewer administered to plantation mothers and self
administered to plantation midwives and postnatal ward staff), face-t- face interviews, group
discussions with different categories, observations using checklists on institutions and
plantation domiciliary care and triangulation. The interventions were broadly categorized in
to three main areas: interventions to strengthen the institutional post partum services ;
interventions to strengthen the domiciliary post partum services and interventions to
strengthen the record keeping and reporting. Evaluation revealed significant improvements
in postnatal care in the plantation sector. The percentage of postnatal mothers who
consumed alcohol in the postnatal period was 63.2 percent significantly reduced to 19.5
percent (p 0.001).
