Assessing the changes in childbirth care practices and neonatal outcomes in Western China: pre-comparison and post-comparison study on early essential newborn care interventions.

Objective: To explore the changes in childbirth care practices and health outcomes of newborns after the introduction of early essential newborn care (EENC).

Design: A pre-comparison and post-comparison study.

Setting: The study was conducted in December 2016 and December 2018 in 18 counties in four western provinces of China.