Understanding the relationships between the degree of pregnancy intention and key neonatal and maternal outcomes in the Mchinji District of Malawi.

This project will translate and validate the LMUP in the Chichewa language for use in the Mchinji District of Malawi.  Using the local demographic surveillance system, four thousand pregnant women will be recruited during 2013 and will be interviewed at home twice.  At the first interview, during pregnancy, basic socio-economic and demographic data will be collected and the LMUP administered.  The women will be followed up 4-6 weeks post-partum where further information on the pregnancy, birth and health of the woman and baby will be collected and anthropometric measurements taken.  This data will be analysed to explore the relationships between pregnancy intention, preventative and care-seeking behaviours during pregnancy, birth and the postpartum period and key neonatal and maternal health outcomes such as birth weight, neonatal mortality and post-partum depression.

At the same time qualitative work will be undertaken to assess the current family planning situation in Malawi and Mchinji. Malawi’s 2009 sexual and reproductive health policy outlines the challenges of ‘early and unwanted pregnancies’ and places family planning as its number one priority.  By exploring the implementation of policy and the attitudes and experiences of communities, this research will consider the ways in which the unmet need for family planning in Malawi can be reduced by actions at community, health service, district and national levels.