Les nouveaux critères et la qualité des services de soins de santé dans le gouvernorat de Monastir (Tunisie)

In 2005 new quality criteria (7 items) were introduced for services provided to mother and child under the national perinatality programme. We evaluated this new version in a descriptive study conducted among a random sample of 400 parturient women from Monastir governorate. Mean age was 29.3 (SD 5) years and 42% were primipara. Although prenatal care was adequate in terms of number of antenatal visits for 82.5% of women, for only 21% were all 7 quality criteria fulfilled. The rates of caesarean section and premature birth were significantly higher in women who received quality care (P 0.05). In logistic regression analysis, age and parity were the only factors independently associated with the quality of care. Additional efforts are needed to ensure good maternal and infant quality of care.