As of 2016, 10 percent of babies born in Nepal were considered smaller than average, and the same percentage weighed less than 5.5 pounds (2.5 kilograms) at birth. As part of MOMENTUM Country and Global Leadership’s work to improve quality of care, the project is supporting Nepal’s Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) to assess current practices for, barriers to, and enablers of care for small and sick newborns. This assessment bolsters the project’s efforts to co-design, develop, and test quality of care standards for small or sick newborns, including feeding practices, that align with the country’s priorities and aims. This process builds on the national adaptation of the World Health Organization (WHO) 2020 Standards for Improving the Quality of Care for Small and Sick Newborns in Health Facilities and the WHO and UNICEF Model of Care for Small and Sick Newborns to Nepal’s specific context. MOMENTUM is helping to pilot the model in four special newborn care units to assess the feasibility and adaptability of the model.

The WHO recommends that women at low risk for a cesarean section drink fluids and eat food during the first stage of labor. This behavior is part of better quality of care for laboring mothers, which helps improve maternal and newborn health outcomes. However, there is little research on nutrition practices in labor in low- and middle-income countries to contextualize the global push to implement WHO’s recommendations. To respond to this gap, MOMENTUM Country and Global Leadership is conducting an assessment in Nepal to understand current nutrition practices during labor and make recommendations on how to help facilities adhere to WHO recommendations.

MOMENTUM is also leading an assessment to understand health providers’, mothers’, and families’ perspectives on practices and barriers around breastfeeding and specialized feeding for newborns.

Many young people ages 15 to 24 who want to delay or prevent pregnancy are not currently using any form of modern contraception, especially married adolescent girls and young women. Using a human-centered approach, MOMENTUM Private Healthcare Delivery partners with private providers in Madhesh and Karnali provinces in their efforts to reach youth with the family planning services they need. This approach is designed to adapt services grounded in the realities that young people experience daily, allowing providers to reach them more effectively.