TITLE:
Maternal and Neonatal Outcomes of a Free Maternal Care Programme at Yardimeli Specialist Hospital, Somalia: A Two-Year Retrospective Study
AUTHORS:
Rahma Yusuf Haji Mohamud, Abukar Mahamed Osman, Salah Mohamed Malin, Ifrah Abdi Nor, Mashhura Isroilova, Mohamed Yaqub Hassan, Sadia Ahmed Omar, Hawa Hussein Ahmed, Abdullahi Hussein Salad
KEYWORDS:
Maternal Health, Neonatal Outcomes, Free Maternal Care, Antenatal Care, Somalia
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology,
Vol.16 No.10,
October
12,
2026
ABSTRACT: Background: Maternal and neonatal mortality remain important public health challenges in Somalia, where access to affordable and quality maternity care can be limited. Hospital-sponsored programmes that provide free maternity services combined with home-based midwife follow-up may help address barriers to essential maternal and newborn care. However, evidence describing outcomes among women enrolled in such programmes in Somalia remains limited. This study described maternal and neonatal outcomes among women participating in a hospital-sponsored free maternity care programme. Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted using routinely collected programme data from Yardimeli Specialist Hospital, Somalia, from January 2023 to January 2025. Of 201 women enrolled in the programme, 17 were excluded because outcome follow-up information was unavailable, leaving 184 women in the final analytical cohort. Maternal, pregnancy, delivery, and neonatal outcomes were summarized using descriptive statistics. Analyses were based on the relevant analytical unit for each outcome, with variable-specific denominators used where data were missing. Results: Among the 184 women in the final analytical cohort, 184 pregnancy outcomes were recorded, comprising 170 live-birth pregnancies (92.4%), seven abortions (3.8%), and seven intrauterine fetal deaths (3.8%). Two twin pregnancies among the live-birth pregnancies resulted in 172 live-born infants. One maternal death (0.5%) was recorded among the 184 women, while four neonatal deaths occurred among the 172 live-born infants (2.3%). Low birth weight (Conclusion: This study provides important preliminary evidence on maternal and neonatal outcomes within a hospital-sponsored free maternity care programme in Somalia. While most infants had favorable 5-minute APGAR scores, adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes were observed. Prospective comparative studies with standardized follow-up are needed to evaluate programme effectiveness and guide the development of accessible maternity care models in Somalia.