Long-Acting Reversible Contraceptives: Papers From the 2016 International Conference on Family Planning
Global Health: Science and Practice recently released a special issue highlighting a number of papers on long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs) following the 2016 International Conference on Family Planning held in Indonesia. The theme of this year’s conference was “global commitments, local actions”, emphasizing the role of partnerships in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. The papers examine the prevalence of LARC utilization, local perceptions of LARCs and the effectiveness of programming to promote LARCs in countries around the world.
Categories: Maternal Health
Topics: Family Planning Reproductive Health
New Publications From the World Health Organization: Counting Maternal Deaths and Stillbirths
The majority of stillbirths and maternal and neonatal deaths are preventable, and yet every year an estimated 303,000 mothers die during childbirth, 2.7 million babies die within the first 28 days of life and 2.6 million stillbirths occur. Particularly in countries with insufficient health information systems, many of these deaths are not recorded or reviewed. Access to accurate data on the incidence and causes of mortality is crucial for developing life-saving interventions. The World Health Organization (WHO) recently released three publications designed to help countries improve data collection on maternal and neonatal deaths.
Categories: Maternal Health
Topics: Health Systems Maternal and Newborn Health Integration Maternal Mortality Monitoring & Evaluation Newborn Health Policy & Advocacy Stillbirth
The Lancet Maternal Health Series
By Sarah Hodin, Project Coordinator II, Women and Health Initiative, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health The Maternal Health Task Force (MHTF) is pleased to share with you The Lancet Maternal Health Series! We are grateful to Oona Campbell and Wendy Graham who played crucial roles in putting this series together and to the... read more
Categories: Maternal Health
Family Inclusive Maternal Health Care: What it Is and Why it Matters
Not surprisingly, public health professionals, researchers and clinicians in the maternal and child health field have traditionally focused primarily on the mother and the child. Interventions aimed at encouraging antenatal care attendance, facility-based delivery and exclusive breastfeeding have generally targeted the pregnant woman or mother, often without much attention to her partner, surrounding family or social network.
Categories: Maternal Health
Topics: Antenatal Care Breastfeeding Health Systems Male Involvement Newborn Health Policy & Advocacy
Global Leaders in Maternal Newborn Health: Maria Fernandez Elorriaga (Mexico)
Safe Mothers and Newborns Leadership Workshop participant Maria Fernandez Elorriaga is the principal investigator and technical coordinator of a study investigating the use of the World Health Organization Safe Childbirth Checklist to improve the quality of institutional delivery in Mexico. Maria is also co-investigator on two more studies of implementation science in maternal and perinatal care. In addition, Maria has worked as a primary and community care nurse in Spain, as a regional nutrition coordinator in Malawi and as child health and nutrition coordinator in the Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf, Algeria. Maria discusses challenges in maternal newborn health in Mexico and effective leadership.
Categories: Global Leaders in Maternal and Newborn Health Series Maternal Health
Topics: Abortion & Post-abortion Care Facility-based Births Family Planning Quality of Care Respectful Maternity Care
20 New Jobs in Maternal Newborn Health!
Interested in a position in maternal newborn health? Every month, the Maternal Health Task Force rounds up job and internship postings from around the globe...read more
Categories: Maternal Health
Best Practices for Implementing the WHO Safe Childbirth Checklist: Engaging Staff and Stakeholders
Last month, scientists at Ariadne Labs, a collaboration between Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, hosted the second webinar in their interactive series dedicated to sharing lessons learned from implementing the World Health Organization (WHO) Safe Childbirth Checklist for quality improvement. Presenters explored how to ensure buy-in and identify relevant stakeholders, establish an implementation team and utilize best practices in checklist adaptation. Dr. Rosemary Ogu shared her team’s experience piloting a program using the checklist in Port Harcourt, Nigeria...read more
Categories: Maternal Health
Topics: Facility-based Births Intrapartum Care Maternal Mortality Obstructed & Prolonged Labor Quality of Care Stillbirth
Effective Antenatal Interventions to Prevent Maternal and Newborn Mortality
A recent study published in PLOS One reviews the current state of evidence on a number of antenatal interventions designed to reduce adverse maternal and newborn health outcomes. The authors analyze 21 types of interventions that fall into three categories: nutrition, infection and obstetrical/other...read more
Categories: Maternal Health
Topics: Antenatal Care Breastfeeding Education Family Planning HIV & AIDS Low Birth Weight Malaria in Pregnancy Maternal Morbidity Maternal Mortality Monitoring & Evaluation Newborn Health Nutrition Postnatal/Postpartum Care Postpartum Hemorrhage Pre-eclampsia/Eclampsia Preterm Birth Stillbirth
Improving Quality of Care for Mothers and Newborns in Health Facilities: New Standards and Measures From the World Health Organization (WHO)
To combat preventable perinatal morbidity and mortality, the World Health Organization (WHO) recently published a framework for measuring and improving quality of maternal and newborn health care in facilities across the globe. The framework includes eight standards of high quality care and a comprehensive list of measures to identify quality gaps throughout the continuum of care for women and newborns...read more
Categories: Maternal Health
Topics: Facility-based Births Quality of Care
