Coverage of post-partum and post-natal care in Egypt in 2005-2008 and Bangladesh in 2004-2007: levels, trends and unmet need.

Maternal and neonatal mortality in the post-partum period remain high in many countries because of the limited provision of care. This study uses demographic & health survey data for Egypt in 2005 and 2008 and Bangladesh in 2004 and 2007 to analyse levels and trends in post-partum and post-natal care by place of delivery. Improvements were found in levels and timing of post-partum care following institutional deliveries in both countries, especially within 24 hours post-partum. In Egypt, post-partum care within 24 hours rose from 86% to 93% between the two surveys, and in Bangladesh from 46% to 67% (data for home deliveries only). In contrast, although most first neonatal care was within 24 hours, few improvements were seen in the proportion of infants receiving early care after institutional or home deliveries. If the first hour after delivery were excluded from our analysis, more than 40% and 78%, respectively, of the level of institution-based post-partum care in Egypt in 2008 and Bangladesh in 2007 would be excluded, implying that post-partum coverage may be far worse than DHS data indicate. This study shows that post-partum and post-natal care--like skilled attendance and emergency obstetric care--continue to be grossly neglected and lag far behind the high and rising levels of antenatal care in a growing number of countries.