Degree Name

Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)

Document Type

Major Paper

School

School of Nursing

Department

Nursing

Date of Original Version

5-21-2017

Abstract

Maternal health is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the health of women during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period (WHO, 2016). Maternal health is a very important determinant of Haiti’s familial, educational, economic, and environmental development. One key to maternal health is family planning which can empower women to fulfill their familial and community roles. Family planning through contraception offers women the opportunity to gain time between child births by deciding when to get pregnant in relation to their other life obligations. Having fewer children and longer spacing between births provides women and children a better quality of life and an opportunity to be more productive members of their communities. A maternal health assessment for women of childbearing age in rural Beaulieu, Haiti and surrounding villages was conducted to investigate factors leading to unintended pregnancies among women receiving contraceptives at the Erline et Armelle Clinic using the Social Ecological Model as a framework. Implications for advanced practice public health nursing practice, policy, and research were identified and recommendations provided.

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