2. Center for Development in Primary Health Care, Al Quds University. Improving Postpartum Care among Low Parity Mothers in Palestine. Jerusalem: CDPHC, 2003: 30pp.

 The lack of care provided to mothers and newborns during the perinatal period is an important health care problem in the West Bank and Gaza. While a large percentage of women receive some antenatal care, very few return to health facilities for postpartum check-ups and few begin using family planning during the postpartum period for birth spacing. The percentages are expected to be even lower among low parity women, i.e. those with one or two living children. This report describes the results of the intervention for low parity women. A total of 257 women completed the study (112 in the control group and 145 in the intervention group). The two study groups were comparable on the following characteristics: women’s and husbands’ education, husbands’ occupation, number of living children, and reproductive characteristics. However, the two groups were different on other characteristics.