Making pregnancy safer/promoting effective perinatal care : activity report - Turkmenistan 2002-2005

Abstract

The greatest challenges in maternal and child health care in the European region include over-medicalisation, poor health education and insufficient inter-professional and multi-disciplinary collaboration. The final step of the CARAK project in Turkmenistan was to support appropriate use of technology for perinatal care, birth and neonatal care; equipment was purchased based on the CARAK evaluation and a 2001 WHO-Europe mission to Ashgabad. A technical training programme on the operational aspects of medical equipment management and maintenance procedures, took place in April 2002. In June 2002, an Orientation and planning meeting was held to review achievements in mother and newborn health and discuss development of a plan of action for implementation Making Pregnancy Safer/Promoting Effective Perinatal Care. A training course on Essential obstetric care was held in November of 2003 for 31 participants. A course on Evidence-based mother and newborn care for 22 decision-makers was held in January of 2005. In view of the high rates of maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity rates, a workshop was held in December 2004 to review the evidence on Caesarean section performance in Turkmenistan, with the participation of 32 obstetrician/gynaecologists