Ethiopia has been expanding maternity waiting homes to bridge geographical gaps between health facilities and communities in order to improve access to skilled care. In 2015, the Ministry of Health revised its national guidelines to standardize the rapid expansion of waiting homes. Little has been done to document their distribution, service availability and readiness. This paper addresses these gaps as well as their association with perinatal mortality and obstetric complication rates. The impact of waiting homes on maternal and perinatal outcomes appear promising and as homes continue to expand, so should efforts to regularly monitor, refine and document their impact.
Authors: Gizachew Tadele Tiruneh, Yayeh Negash Getu, Mahbub Ali Abdukie, Geremew Gonfa Eba, Emily Keyes, and Patricia E. Bailey
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