This report provides the baseline results of the impact evaluation of Zambia’s First 1,000 Most Critical Days Programme (MCDP). The evaluation of the MCDP will be a two year mixed methods non-experimental design that includes three components: a rapid qualitative assessment (RQA), a process evaluation, and an impact evaluation. The purpose of the evaluation is to learn if and how the programme impacts the lives of pregnant women, and children under 2 years old for an array of outcomes including young child nutrition; health, water and sanitation practices; and the use of health related services. Department for International Development (DfID) Zambia contracted the American Institutes for Research (AIR) and its partners Palm Associates and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) to conduct the evaluation of the MCDP. (34 pages)