KATHMANDU, Oct 15: The Ministry of Health and Food Hygiene has introduced new provisions to protect the privacy and dignity of mothers receiving maternity services at health facilities.
The Mother and Child-Friendly Health Facility Programme Operating Guidelines, 2026 prioritizes the use of curtains and partitions to ensure privacy during childbirth.
The ministry issued the new guidelines to make the programme more systematic and effective, replacing the framework previously implemented under the Mother and Child-Friendly Services Campaign Guidelines, 2016.
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Under the new provisions, health facilities must respect mothers’ personal privacy and dignity during delivery and provide appropriate curtains or partitions. Even when several women share a delivery room, facilities must ensure that each mother receives care with adequate privacy.
The guidelines aim to ensure that mothers receive safe, comfortable and dignified care and feel that their physical privacy is protected throughout childbirth.
They also prioritize allowing mothers to have a family member of their choice present during labour, keeping newborns with their mothers after birth and initiating breastfeeding as soon as possible.
In addition, health facilities must designate a contact person to provide mothers and newborns with necessary counselling and support after they return home.
The ministry expects the new guidelines to strengthen maternal and newborn care by placing greater emphasis on privacy, dignity and comfort during maternity services.