Stakeholder's perspectives of postnatal discharge: a qualitative evidence synthesis.

Findings suggest an overall feeling of dissatisfaction among women, parents and midwives with the current provision of discharge preparation. In particular, women and midwives expressed frustration at the lack of time and resources available for ensuring adequate quality of care prior to discharge. The perspectives of included stakeholders indicate a demand for increased focus on the emotional and social needs of women and families during discharge preparation as well as better engagement of fathers and other family members. The qualitative evidence available indicates the likely positive impact of adequate discharge preparation if the identified service and system barriers can be overcome. As the updated WHO recommendations on postnatal care become embedded in country health systems and policies, there may be renewed interest on values, preferences and perspectives at system, service and end-user level.