Use of Maternity Register Data in Benin

Author(s):

Year: 2003

Abstract:

This report describes a study of the content and the use of routinely collected data from maternity registers for the purposes of monitoring maternal and newborn health at the health facility level in departments in Atlantique and Zou, Benin. The Benin Maternity Register Study was designed to assess the current and potential use of data routinely collected from registers and logbooks. The results suggest that a broad range of data is routinely collected, though there is little standardization in the content or format of these data. In general, public health facilities are more likely than private ones to maintain the four registers pertaining to childbirth that were of interest to the study. In all three categories of maternity included in the sample, data were remarkably complete for data items specified in the registers. Results from the qualitative study suggest that midwives, nurses, and nurses' aides see value in the data collection process.