A Systematic Review on Continuity of Care for Effective Coordination in Maternal and Neonatal Health Continuum: Experiences of Skilled Birth Attendants.

Abstract

Journal ArticleBackground: Experiences of Skilled Birth Attendants (SBA) within and between the Maternal and Neonatal care segment is vital since they are the implementers of care. Aim: The objective of the review was to identify the experiences of Skilled Birth Attendants (SBA) with continuity of care (CoC) through the transitions of Maternal and Neonatal Health (MNH) continuum for effective care coordination. Methods: A qualitative systematic review was conducted of studies from the year 2000 to 2022 while following the Joanne Briggs Institute SUMARI critical appraisal tools. The first search was from 2/2/2021 to 16/2/2021, and a repeat search on 16/2/2022. PubMed, Cochrane, Scopus, Research 4 Life and Joanne databases were reviewed in English, French, and Spanish for data extraction and meta-aggregation done that led to the extraction of the discussed themes. Findings: The first theme on SBPs experiences was lack of timely CoC. The SBPs noted that women were not autonomous, and there was need for them to continuously update themselves with information in order to improve the Women-SBA/SBPs relationship on Continuity. The second theme acknowledged that the MNH continuum ought to be “Women Centred” (WC) and not “litigation centred” (LC). Third theme highlighted “what can be done”, from preconception to pregnancy, “what must be done” from pregnancy to birthing and “what needs to be done” from birth to postpartum. A gap was noted between the postnatal segment and the next conception segment as the “what next” segment. Conclusion: The missing segment between postpartum to preconception was suggested to be implemented immediately after birthing. The interconnectedness of continuity and coordination of care was suggested through a Midwifery Led Model (MLM)