To explore knowledge gaps and current and past successful approaches in maternal mental health, The Maternal Health Task Force at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the Mental Health Innovation Network at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Dr. Jane Fisher of Monash University are hosting the blog series, “Mental health: the missing piece in maternal health.” This blog series will bring light to a myriad issues that encompass maternal mental health: from determinants of mental health disorders and the importance of measurement to maternal mental health’s relationship with gender equality, child development and family dynamics. We invite you to participate in the series by contributing a post and following the series… read more
Call for Posts! Social Accountability and Community Mobilization to Improve Maternal Health
Posted onThis post is the first in our new blog series, “Social accountability and community mobilization for maternal health,” hosted with COPASAH and the Centre for Health and Social Justice (CHSJ). From holding governments accountable with legislation for maternal deaths to community monitoring of quality of maternal health care, social accountability can be a powerful tool to empower communities to protect the health of women and mothers. Are you working in this area? Contribute a post to the series!… read more
International Day of the Midwife: What Are Global Leaders Saying?
Posted onToday, May 5, is the International Day of the Midwife. This is an opportunity for the global community to come together to recognize the incredible impact midwives have on maternal and newborn health and decreasing mortality. Want to know more about what global leaders are doing to strengthen midwifery? On Monday, March 23rd, global leaders in midwifery and maternal, newborn and child health gathered in Washington, DC at the Wilson Center for Call the Midwife: A Conversation About the Rising Global Midwifery Movement. This symposium hosted four panels to discuss current data, country investments, important global initiatives and public private partnerships and innovation in midwifery… read more
To Recognize World Malaria Day, Clara Menéndez Talks Malaria in Pregnancy
Posted onThis week I spoke with Dr. Clara Menendez—a true pioneer in eliminating malaria in pregnancy—to reflect on where we’ve been and where we must go as a global maternal health community to protect women and their children from the unnecessary burden caused by malaria.Why is this important? Pregnant women have up to a 50% greater risk of malaria infection than women who are not pregnant. Each year in Africa alone, malaria in pregnancy kills 10,000 women, 75,000-200,000 infants and 100,000 newborns – making up 11% of all neonatal deaths…. read more
Spreading the Message of the International Day for Maternal Health and Rights
Posted onOn April 11th, the world gathered to celebrate the second annual International Day for Maternal Health and Rights. Voices of maternal health groups from around the world called for recognition and action on human rights abuses that women suffer during pregnancy, labor and the time after birth. These voices were organized by the MHTF and CHANGE into a blog carnival during the week leading up to April 11th. From health disparities in the U.S. to fighting stigma against HIV-positive women in India, 24 different blogs were shared that chronicled women’s experiences and the work we have left to do as the maternal health community. We invite you to learn more about the International Day for Maternal Health and Rights and the stories of women from around the world by reading these featured blogs… read more
Brand New Size at Birth Standards Will Improve Neonatal Health
Posted onNewborn size at birth standards are now available from the INTERGROWTH-21st project. This package includes size charts, standards and z-scores for newborn length, weight and head circumference at birth for boys and girls. The newborn size at birth standards are currently in use at Oxford. In addition, these standards are being introduced and piloted at INTERGROWTH-21st study sites and medical centers in the Boston area. We encourage all clinicians to use these standards worldwide… read more
Call for Posts: How to Increase Access to Maternal and Reproductive Health Supplies
Posted onThe Maternal Health Task Force (MHTF), the Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition (RHSC)/Maternal Health Supplies Caucus (MHS) and Family Care International (FCI) share the goal of increasing awareness of the key role that reliable access to quality maternal and reproductive health supplies plays in reducing maternal mortality. To this end, we’d like to invite you to contribute a post to our blog series, Increasing access to maternal and reproductive health supplies: Leveraging lessons learned in preventing maternal mortality… read more
9 Ways to Save Lives Through Maternal and Newborn Health Integration
Posted onAt a standing room only event last week at The Forum at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, global experts gathered to discuss the need for, barriers to, and the way forward for maternal and newborn integration. But what is integration and why is it so desperately needed? Every year approximately 300,000 women and 5.5 million newborns, including stillborns, die needlessly. The causes of these deaths are often similar since the mother and her newborn are inextricably linked both socially and biologically… read more
Margaret Kruk Joins the MHTF: Strengthening Health Systems for Women
Posted onCritical Next Steps for the Maternal Health Community
Posted onAs we reflect on lessons learned from the MDGs and set strategies for improving global maternal health, it’s time to identify what has worked and what more is needed to not only avert preventable maternal deaths, but also provide quality health care for every woman. In a paper published today, Tamil Kendall, a post-doctoral fellow of the Maternal Health Task Force, summarizes priorities for maternal health research in low- and middle-income countries based on three broad questions she asked 26 maternal health researchers from five continents… read more