Improving Health and Gender Outcomes for First-Time Parents in Cross River State, Nigeria

This brief describes an effort launched in 201 wherein the Evidence to Action (E2A) Project. and Pathfinder International, in partnership with the Ministry of Health,worked to improve postpartum health and gender outcomes for young first-time parents (FTPs) in Cross River State, Nigeria. The full report is here.

The FTP component focused on healthy timing and spacing of pregnancies (HTSP), family planning (FP), exclusive breastfeeding, positive parenting, and related gender outcomes for young FTPs. Evidence to Action (E2A) Project designed multiple, coordinated interventions for this vulnerable youth population, targeting young first-time mothers, their key influencers—especially partners/husbands and older women—and their communities, including a network of community- and facility-based health care providers to achieve these outcomes:

• Increase voluntary contraceptive use
• Improve HTSP/FP knowledge, attitudes, and intentions
• Increase knowledge and foster positive attitudes and intentions for exclusive breastfeeding
• Improve knowledge and attitudes for positive parenting
• Increase support from partners, families/households, and communities to create an enabling environment

Source: Evidence to Action (E2A) Project., USAID

Date of Publication: August 3, 2020