BACKGROUND:
Group ante- and postnatal care (GC) offers a transformative model of maternity care that integrates clinical assessments with interactive learning and peer support. Facilitated primarily by midwives, GC fosters community building through shared experiences, addressing participants’ needs and reducing traditional care hierarchies. The EU Horizon 2020 GC_1000 project implemented, and/or scaled-up GC in Belgium, Ghana, the Netherlands, Kosovo, Suriname, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.

OBJECTIVES:
To synthesize and share knowledge on how to implement GC as part of health services, based on implementation experiences in seven countries.

METHODS:
For each participating country, data was collected from several sources, including service users and service providers – interviews, observations, clinical and meeting notes. Data was coded inductively and synthesised using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR). Findings were validated through stakeholder meetings and contributed to lesson learnt reports and a global GC Implementation Toolkit.

RESULTS:
Lessons learnt include the critical role of health system infrastructure for hosting group-based care models, the importance of policy / local leadership support as well as support and training in participatory care approaches for providers such as midwives. Community engagement is essential for reaching disadvantaged groups and cultural sensitivity is critical for contextual adaptation. Staff engagement to identify local champions and to generate buy-in for the implementation of GC, are also vital for successful implementation.

CONCLUSIONS:
Despite contextual differences, the study demonstrated that GC can be effectively adapted while maintaining its core principles. Adapting the model to address specific cultural, healthcare service, and space-related challenges while also maintaining integrity of the approach, enhances the model's relevance and accommodates needs posed by the specific implementation context. The resulting and freely available Implementation Toolkit supports further adoption of GC globally.

KEY MESSAGE:
GC can be successfully implemented in diverse settings by aligning with local needs while preserving its core principles. Approaches to care