The first days, weeks, and months after a delivery represent a period of substantial information and service needs for both mother and child, including treatment of hemorrhage and infections, breastfeeding information and support, nutritional complements and micronutrients, immunizations for children and mothers, counseling for managing intimate partner violence and depression, and, most importantly, contraception. In areas of high HIV prevalence, contraceptives and antiretroviral therapy are especially critical elements of postpartum care. Yet despite its strategic importance, few organizations have made it a priority to address women\u27s reproductive health and fertility needs during the year following delivery. The situation is compounded by the scarcity of postpartum care in many countries, creating a major public health concern. This brief focuses on the degree to which service delivery organizations in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and the Near East, and Latin America and the Caribbean meet the contraceptive needs of women in the postpartum period and the strategies they have tested for doing so. The brief principally relies on reviewing the results and lessons learned from operations research projects conducted by the Population Council’s FRONTIERS program
