Community of Practice

About this CoP

Maternal and Newborn Quality of Care Community is a collaborative virtual Community of Practice for healthcare professionals committed to improving the quality, safety, and outcomes of maternal and newborn care. The community provides a space to learn, share experiences, discuss evidence-based practices, and co-create solutions that strengthen care across the continuum from pregnancy to the postnatal period.

A story from the numbers — Kenya’s maternal and newborn health challenge

Despite notable gains in child survival over the past two decades, Kenya still faces unacceptably high maternal, infant, and neonatal mortality, and many of these deaths are preventable with better quality care.

According to the 2022 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey, the neonatal mortality rate — the number of babies who die within the first 28 days of life — is 21 deaths per 1,000 live births. This means that for every 1,000 babies born alive, about 21 will not survive their first month of life.

Even though infant mortality (death before age one) and under-five mortality have declined over time — currently at 32 and 41 deaths per 1,000 live births, respectively — neonatal deaths now represent a large portion of these losses. Neonatal deaths make up 66% of infant deaths and 51% of under-five deaths.

At the same time, maternal mortality remains high. While national estimates vary, Kenya continues to record hundreds of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, highlighting persistent risks around pregnancy and childbirth.

These mortality rates do not just reflect statistics — they reflect real mothers and newborns lost too soon, families disrupted, and communities facing ongoing gaps in clinical care, system coordination, and quality improvement. For example:

• Nearly one in ten infants still die before age five, and most of these deaths occur in the first month of life.
• Despite most births occurring in health facilities (~88%), many preventable complications continue to contribute to deaths due to gaps in emergency care, infection prevention, and timely referrals.
• Neonatal mortality has declined very slowly compared to infant and child mortality over the past decade, suggesting specific challenges in care at birth and immediately after.

Taken together, these figures tell a compelling story: while Kenya has made progress in reducing deaths among children, maternal and newborn outcomes still lag behind where they should be, particularly given global goals like Sustainable Development Goal 3, which aims to sharply reduce maternal and newborn mortality by 2030.

Why a CoP Matters

The persistent high mortality rates — and the slow pace of improvement in neonatal outcomes — highlight the need for healthcare professionals to share knowledge, reflect on practice, and co-create solutions that improve quality of care. Established best practices are not always consistently applied, and clinical teams often lack safe spaces to troubleshoot real cases, learn from peers, and implement evidence-based quality improvement approaches.

A Maternal and Newborn Quality of Care Community  is that space where:

• Providers share successful interventions and avoidable harm experiences
• Teams discuss how to implement WHO quality standards in resource-limited settings
• Health workers explore data on what works locally
• Counties and facilities exchange lessons on reducing maternal and neonatal mortality

This community becomes more than discussion — it becomes a collective force for change, grounded in data.

Who should join this Community of Practice

This Community of Practice is open to individuals and teams involved in improving the quality, safety, and outcomes of maternal and newborn care, including:

• Midwives and nurse-midwives

• Nurses working in maternity, newborn, neonatal, and postnatal care

• Obstetricians and gynaecologists

• Paediatricians and neonatologists

• Clinical officers involved in maternal and newborn services

• Community health nurses and community health promoters

• Maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) programme managers

• Quality improvement and patient safety officers

• Health facility managers and administrators

• Public health specialists and reproductive health coordinators

• Health educators, tutors, and clinical mentors

• Researchers and data officers working in MNH

• Digital health, health informatics, and health information systems professionals supporting MNH

• Policy and implementation partners working in maternal and newborn health

• Students and trainees in health-related fields with an interest in MNH quality of care