ObjectiveTo assess and compare the quality of intrapartum and immediate postpartum care across levels of healthcare in Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire using validated process indicators.DesignHealth facility-based cross-sectional study with direct observation of healthcare workers’ practices while caring for mother–newborn pairs during intrapartum and immediate postpartum periods.SettingPrimary healthcare facilities and their corresponding referral hospitals in the Central-North region in Burkina Faso and the Agneby-Tiassa-Mé region in Côte d’Ivoire.ParticipantsHealthcare providers who care for mother–newborn pairs during intrapartum and immediate postpartum periods, the labouring women and their newborns after childbirth.Main outcome measure(s)Adherence to essential best practices (EBPs) at four pause points in each birth event and the overall quality score based on the level of adherence to the set of EBPs observed for a selected pause point.ResultsA total of 532 and 627 labouring women were included in Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire, respectively. Overall, the compliance with EBPs was insufficient at all the four pause points, even though it varied widely from one EBP to another. The adherence was very low with respect to hand hygiene practices: the care provider wore sterile gloves for vaginal examination in only 7.96% cases (95% CI 5.66% to 11.06%) in Burkina Faso and the care provider washed hands before examination in 6.71% cases (95% CI 3.94% to 11.20%) in Côte d’Ivoire. The adherence was very high with respect to thermal management of newborns in both countries (>90%). The overall mean quality scores were consistently higher in referral hospitals in Burkina Faso at all pause points excluding immediate post partum.ConclusionsWomen delivering in healthcare facilities do not always receive proven EBPs needed to prevent poor childbirth outcomes. There is a need for quality improvement interventions.

Introduction Despite the important increase in in-facility births, perinatal mortality rates have remained high and slow to decrease in many developing countries. This situation is attributed to poor childbirth care quality. The reason why women delivering in health facilities do not always receive care of an adequate standard is unclear. We assessed the determinants of childbirth care quality along the care continuum by means of different approaches. Methods A health facility-based cross-sectional study with a direct observation of health care workers’ practices while caring for mother–newborn pairs was carried out in Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire. The performance of a set of essential best practices (EBPs) was assessed in each birth event at the admission, prepushing and immediate postpartum stages. A quality score, in the form of the additive sum of EBPs effectively delivered, was computed for each stage. We used negative binomial regression models and a structural equation modeling analysis to assess the determinants of care quality at each stage and the relationships of the quality delivered at the different stages, respectively. Results A total of 532 and 627 mother–newborn pairs were evaluated in Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire, respectively. In both countries, delivery care quality varied significantly at all stages between health districts. Predelivery care quality was consistently higher in referral hospitals than in primary health care facilities (incident rate ratio (IRR) = 1.02, p < 0.05, and IRR = 1.10, p < 0.05, respectively, for Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire). Quality at admission was poorer among nurses than among midwives in Burkina Faso (IRR = 0.81, p < 0.001). Quality at the admission and predelivery stages was positively correlated with immediate postpartum care quality (β = 0.48, p < 0.001, and β = 0.29, p < 0.001, respectively). Conclusion Quality improvement strategies must target both providers and health facilities, and different inputs are needed depending on the stage in the care continuum.

Introduction: Despite important increase in in-facility births, perinatal mortality rates have remained high and slow to decrease in many developing countries. This situation is attributed to the poor quality of childbirth care. The reason why women delivering in health facilities do not always receive standards of care are unclear. We assessed the determinants of the quality of childbirth care along the continuum of care using different approaches.Methods: A health facility-based cross-sectional study with a direct observation of health care workers’ practices while caring for mother-newborn pairs was carried out in Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire. The performance of a set of Essential Best Practices (EBPs) was assessed in each birth event at admission, pre-pushing and immediate post-partum stages. A quality score, in the form of the additive sum of EBPs effectively delivered was computed for each stage. We used negative binomial regression models and a structural equation modeling analysis to respectively assess the determinants of the quality of care at each stage and the relationships between the quality delivered at the different stages.Results: a total of 532 and 627 mother-newborn pairs were included respectively in Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire. In both countries, the quality of delivery care varies significantly at all stages between health districts. The quality of predelivery care was consistently higher in referral hospitals as compared to primary health care facilities (IRR = 1.02; p < 0.05 and IRR = 1.10; p < 0.05 respectively for Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire). The quality at admission was poorer in nurses as compared to midwives in Burkina Faso (IRR = 0.81; p < 0.001). The quality at admission and pre-delivery stages were positively correlated with the immediate post-partum quality (β = 0.48;p < 0.001 and β = 0.29;p < 0.001 respectively).Conclusion: Quality improvement strategies must target both providers and health facilities and different inputs are needed depending on the stage in the continuum of care.