Social Networks for Improving Maternal & Child Health

Brief Summary: Improving Maternal and Child Health via Indigenous Structures

The goal of this cluster randomized controlled community trial is to assess the effect of community-based interventions using indigenous community structures on the improvement of health and nutritional status in pregnant women (recruited before 16 weeks of gestation) and their children in Northwest Ethiopia. The main questions it aims to answer are:

* Does a community-based intervention using indigenous structures significantly improve the uptake of maternal health services (ANC, delivery, and PNC)? * Does the intervention effectively reduce the prevalence of maternal depression during the pregnancy and postpartum periods? * To what extent does the intervention improve the nutritional status (reducing thinness and stunting) of mothers and their children? Researchers will compare a group of women receiving counseling from trained indigenous social support groups to a control group receiving only the routine health and nutrition education provided by the standard healthcare system to see if the indigenous approach leads to better health and nutritional outcomes.

Participants will:

* Receive four counseling sessions during pregnancy (starting before 16 weeks of gestation) and four additional sessions during the lactation period, conducted in their homes by trained social support groups. * Receive educational leaflets containing core health and nutrition messages and appropriate pictures. * Participate in two rounds of surveys (baseline, and endline) involving interviewer-administered questionnaires. * Undergo physical measurements, specifically mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC), to assess nutritional status.