Results Data from 51 studies ( 15 more than previous review s ) and 22 cash transfer and voucher programmes  suggest that approaches tied to service use ( either via payment conditionalities or vouchers for selected services ) can increase use of antenatal care , use of a skilled attendant at birth and in the case of vouchers , postnatal care too .
The strongest evidence of positive effect was for conditional cash transfers and uptake of antenatal care , and for vouchers for maternity care services and birth with a skilled birth attendant .
However , effects appear to be shaped by a complex set of social and healthcare system barriers and facilitators .
There are few studies to indicate that programmes have led to improvements in quality of maternity care or maternal and newborn health outcomes .
Background Cash transfers and vouchers are forms of ‘ dem and -side financing ’ that have been widely used to promote maternal and newborn health in low- and middle-income countries during the last 15 years .
Income Transfers and Maternal Health: Evidence from a National Randomized Social Cash Transfer Program in Zambia.
There is promising recent evidence that poverty-targeted social cash transfers have potential to improve maternal health outcomes ; however , questions remain surrounding design features responsible for impacts . In addition , virtually no evidence exists from the African region . This study explores the impact of Zambia 's Child Grant Program  on a range of maternal health utilization outcomes using a r and omized design and difference-in-differences multivariate regression from data collected over 24 months from 2010 to 2012 . Results indicate that while there are no measurable program impacts among the main sample , there are heterogeneous impacts on skilled attendance at birth among a sample of women residing in households having better access to maternal health services . The latter result is particularly interesting because of the overall low level of health care availability in program areas suggesting that dedicated program design or matching supply-side interventions may be necessary to leverage unconditional cash transfers in similar setting s to impact maternal health
Results Data from 51 studies ( 15 more than previous review s ) and 22 cash transfer and voucher programmes  suggest that approaches tied to service use ( either via payment conditionalities or vouchers for selected services ) can increase use of antenatal care , use of a skilled attendant at birth and in the case of vouchers , postnatal care too .
The strongest evidence of positive effect was for conditional cash transfers and uptake of antenatal care , and for vouchers for maternity care services and birth with a skilled birth attendant .
However , effects appear to be shaped by a complex set of social and healthcare system barriers and facilitators .
There are few studies to indicate that programmes have led to improvements in quality of maternity care or maternal and newborn health outcomes .
Background Cash transfers and vouchers are forms of ‘ dem and -side financing ’ that have been widely used to promote maternal and newborn health in low- and middle-income countries during the last 15 years .