This Safe Motherhood and Newborn Health Action Plan is therefore guided by principles of human rights and gender, as well as multi-disciplinary approaches towards quality and functional referral systems and principles of preventive services for health promotion. The plan takes into account the findings of the Safe Motherhood Needs Assessment and the achievements of the health systems response, while addressing the gaps identified in the following areas, e.g. availability of family planning services, adolescent pregnancy, start of and continued antenatal care visits for all pregnant women, including adolescents, intrapartum and post-partum care and attention to newborns including children born premature or with low birth weight.
National guidelines and protocols for each of the stages of the continuum as well as adequate insurance options are among the high priority aims of the Safe Motherhood and Newborn Health Action Plan. The development process of this plan has been a collaborative effort of local and international partners. The plan includes targets, objectives and specific activities for each of the phases in the “continuum of care” and outlines the organizations responsible for execution of the included activities. Collaboration between these organizations and with other stakeholders will be necessary to establish linkages between care in the different phases of pregnancy and to prevent duplication of services provided.
The plan is one of the components of the National Maternal and Child Health Policy, to be developed by the Ministry of Health in the near future. The plan will be reviewed and updated periodically to incorporate developments and emergent needs in the Suriname health system.
The target for the antenatal period consists of access to and use of modernized antenatal healthcare services by all women. The delivery period emphasizes access to and use of standardized relevant and appropriate high quality delivery services for women and families. The postpartum period focuses on access to a basic package of health care services for women and infants during the first year postpartum.
