Where Are Neonatal Nurses in Global Strategies?

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By: Carole Kenner, CEO, Council of International Neonatal Nurses, Inc. (COINN); Marina Boykova, Research Coordinator, Council of International Neonatal Nurses, Inc. (COINN)

Having worked as neonatal nurses and educators for more than three decades collectively, we know that newborns who are born prematurely or sick are linked to either maternal perinatal health or the intrapartum experience. According to WHO, 45% of all under five deaths occur during the neonatal period (the first 28 days of life). New strategies seek to address the intrinsic link between maternal and newborn health outcomes. But nurses, a large segment of the health workforce, have for the most part been silent, or at least not active participants, in the construction of these plans. In the last few years, neonatal nurses have been asked to contribute only after much of the work has been done. Why is this so?… read more

Measuring Content of Contacts Reveals Missed Opportunities to Deliver Quality Maternal and Newborn Health Care

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By: Tanya Marchant, Deputy Director, MARCH Centre

Content of maternal and newborn health care needs to be measured to improve the quality of contacts between families and health workers, highlights research carried out by the IDEAS project, and published in PLoS ONE. The number of families that had contact with frontline workers suggested that demand for health care was increasing compared to previous reports from the same study sites. However, the percentage of women and babies who received care with all the recommended content was considerably lower across all stages of the continuum of care…… read more

Ending Preventable Maternal Mortality: Bridges to Morbidity Reduction

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By: Vandana Tripathi, Deputy Director, Fistula Care Plus, EngenderHealth

Many averted maternal deaths may still result in maternal morbidity, including severe and/or chronic conditions. The Fistula Care Plus (FC+) Project at EngenderHealth works to help prevent and treat some of the most serious maternal morbidities, including obstetric fistula…read more

Sharing Strategies for Integrating Maternal and Newborn Care: Strengthening the Continuum

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By: Amy Boldosser-Boesch, Interim President and CEO, Family Care International; Mary Kinney, Specialist with Save the Children, Saving Newborn Lives

The global health community gathered May 19 to recognize the importance of integrating maternal and newborn care and to celebrate the release of the Every Newborn Action Plan (ENAP) Progress Report May 2015 and Strategies Toward Ending Preventable Maternal Mortality (EPMM). The side session at the 68th World Health Assembly Integrating maternal and newborn care: Strengthening the continuum was standing room only as a panel of champions for integration of maternal and newborn health took the stage. Co-sponsored by the Governments of Malawi and Cameroon, this event was planned with the support of a wide range of partners. To learn more about the event… read more

What Are “Healthy” Markets and How Do They Contribute to Healthy Mothers?

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By: Erin Seaver, Market Dynamics Advocacy Officer at PATH

As a key strategy, Strategies toward Ending Preventable Maternal Mortality (EPMM) emphasizes increasing women’s access to maternal health products around the world. To support this, we must better understand the dynamics of the health care markets in which lifesaving maternal health medicines and tools are delivered…read more

Delivering for Mothers and Newborns: Ending Preventable Maternal and Newborn Deaths

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By: Kathleen Hill, Maternal Health Team Lead, Maternal Child Survival Program/Jhpiego; Neena Khadka, Newborn Team Lead, Maternal Child Survival Program/Save the Children

An important side event at this week’s 68th World Health Assembly celebrated two reports – The WHO report on Strategies Toward Ending Preventable Maternal Mortality (EPMM) and the Every Newborn Action Plan Progress Report (ENAP). These two reports contribute to the Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescent’s Health… read more

Calling for an Integrated Approach to Maternal and Newborn Health: Strategies Toward Ending Preventable Maternal Mortality

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By: Amy Boldosser-Boesch, Interim President and CEO, Family Care International

Next week at the 68th World Health Assembly, the Ending Preventable Maternal Mortality (EPMM) Working Group — led by WHO in partnership with Family Care International (FCI), the Maternal Health Task Force, UNICEF, UNFPA, USAID, the Maternal Child Survival Program, and the White Ribbon Alliance — will launch its much-anticipated report, Strategies Toward Ending Preventable Maternal Mortality (EPMM). For FCI and our partners, this report presents an important opportunity to highlight the critical linkages between the health of a woman and that of her newborn baby… read more

Maternal and Newborn Health Take the Spotlight at the World Health Assembly

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By: Rima Jolivet, Maternal Health Consultant, Maternal Health Task Force

An event at the 68th World Health Assembly will showcase a combined strategic approach using the EPMM and ENAP frameworks to accelerate progress, and feature examples from country champions of successful models of integration at national policy and point-of-service levels… read more