Birthing in the Arab region: translating research into practice

The Choices and Challenges in Changing Childbirth research network is a regional collaboration among 4 countries in the Arab region, namely Egypt, Lebanon, Palestine and Syrian Arab Republic, providing evidence of childbirth practices and identifying areas amenable to change. Studies that have been conducted in the region pinpoint problems in the quality of maternity services and a lack of women’s involvement in the process of maternity care. The network aims to change childbirth practices by selecting research areas most likely to influence practices, by supporting the process of obtaining regionally relevant evidence of a high standard and by assigning importance to dissemination and networking activities. This paper draws on the experience of the network in selecting strategies to approach different challenges and discusses the barriers facing this process.