Background
Births in health facilities have increased greatly in Cambodia during the past 15 years, from only 12% of all births in 2002, to around 90% in 2014. This rapid increase means many hospitals need to work on improving the quality of their health services. Under-utilized maternity services and lack of communication between hospital staff and patients are examples of challenges that hospitals are facing. Improving breastfeeding and family planning counseling for patients in the hospital are two ways of improving hospitals’ maternity ward services.

About the project
This project was created to improve care practices related to maternal and newborn care at the Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital in Phnom Penh. The project team targeted pregnant women and mothers visiting the hospital, to equip them with knowledge and skills related to both breastfeeding and contraceptive methods. They also sought to improve the hospital staff’s knowledge and skills on providing education on breastfeeding and family planning to this group of women.

Results:
By the end of the project 85% of the pregnant women received information about breastfeeding, compared to 20% before the project. There was also a significant increase in the number of women who received counselling on family planning methods. Before the project, 40% of the women had decided to choose a contraceptive method. By the end of the project this number had gone up to 85%. 80% of staff of maternity department participated in the trainings during the project. They discussed and shared ideas and experiences with each other and the project team noticed a positive attitude change towards providing counselling to the patients.

Year: 2014