Barriers and facilitators to facility-based delivery in rural Zambia: a qualitative study of women's perceptions after implementation of an improved maternity waiting homes intervention.

Objectives: Women in sub-Saharan Africa face well-documented barriers to facility-based deliveries. An improved maternity waiting homes (MWH) model was implemented in rural Zambia to bring pregnant women closer to facilities for delivery. We qualitatively assessed whether MWHs changed perceived barriers to facility delivery among remote-living women.

If we build it, will they come? Results of a quasi-experimental study assessing the impact of maternity waiting homes on facility-based childbirth and maternity care in Zambia.

Introduction: Maternity waiting homes (MWHs) aim to increase access to maternity and emergency obstetric care by allowing women to stay near a health centre before delivery. An improved MWH model was developed with community input and included infrastructure, policies and linkages to health centres. We hypothesised this MWH model would increase health facility delivery among remote-living women in Zambia.