Background. Mothers’ health is one of the priorities of public health. To implement appropriate interventions, identification and prioritizing of Maternal Health Promotion Factors (MHPF) is one of the important goals of health policymakers.

Aim. This study is a new approach in prioritizing determinants of maternal health promotion by using the FDANP technique.

Design and Setting. This descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in Iran in 2018.

Methods. The MHPF were determined through semi-structured individual interviews by 15 mothers, 15 health care providers and 10 experts in maternal health. A paired comparison questionnaire was completed after determining validity and reliability. Relationship and prioritization factors were performed by FDANP. Data were analyzed using Atlas ti 6.0 and Excel software.

Results. Prioritizing the main health promotion factors from 1 to 8 includes: lifestyle, health system, psychological factors, social support, maternal knowledge, social policies, macroeconomic policies, and facilities. The causal relationships of the factors showed that the macroeconomic policy factor is only effective and lifestyle is only affected by others. The other factors are both effective and affected.

Conclusion. Based on the results, reforming the economic infrastructure, social policies, health system policies, maternal education, social support and providing appropriate interventions to improve the mental health can be decisive in promoting maternal health.

mothers, health promotion, FDANP.