ABSTRACT
Home-Based Life-Saving Skills (HBLSS) is a family focused, community-based program designed to reduce neonatal and maternal mortality. This chapter describes the program design and implementation, results, and evaluations from selected countries, and challenges and lessons learned. The special features that distinguish HBLSS from other programs are the inclusion of a target audience, a focus on working with existing practices, and a participatory cascading process. HBLSS targets a family team that consists of all individuals who are expected to be with the woman during her pregnancy or may be present at the birth, including the pregnant woman, her family caregivers and birth attendant(s). HBLSS Guides teach women and families in the community as they were taught, by using pictorial Take Action Cards, role-play, and demonstration. In 2007, HBLSS was fully integrated into Liberia’s long-term plan to decrease maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity, coordinated through the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.
