As we reflect on the work that we’ve accomplished through the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and plan for the next set of global commitments (the Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs), it’s important to talk about the inextricable link between mothers and their children. This link is both biological and social and has critical implications for health systems. With this knowledge, it is important that maternal and child health professionals work together and look at the continuum of maternal, newborn and child health in an integrated fashion, without forgetting any of these critical elements. But what is integration?… read more
How to Use Mobile Technology to Integrate Maternal and Newborn Health Care
Posted onWhen the idea of MAMA was in its infancy it was always about maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH), because we knew that they go hand in hand. If a woman’s pregnancy isn’t healthy then chances are her baby, and ultimately her growing child, won’t be either. That’s why we worked with BabyCenter and other MNCH experts to create a set of core health messages that adhere to global best practices, designing them to be sent two to three times a week to cover a woman’s pregnancy all the way through her child’s third year of life… read more
On the Far Reaching Consequences of Maternal Mortality
Posted onWorldwide, about 290,000 women die each year from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. From a numerical perspective, this figure appears to denote a situation less urgent than that suggested by the figures for other global health threats, such as malaria (630,000) and HIV (1.5 million). However, in the developing world—where 90 percent of maternal deaths take place—maternal mortality has dramatic implications for child survival and has a profound effect on the well-being and sustainability of the larger community… read more
The Challenges and Opportunities for Maternal Newborn Integration
Posted onPoor integration of maternal and newborn services during pregnancy, childbirth and in the postpartum period can have adverse consequences for the quality of care that mothers and babies receive. It can also affect the equitable access to this care, especially among poor and marginalized populations. In many countries around the world, significant challenges exist at the national, sub-national and local levels for the increase of maternal and newborn health integration. A variety of health system, financial, human resource as well as societal factors must be recognized and addressed to find the right balance of integrated service delivery… 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
Achieving Better Outcomes With Maternal and Newborn Integration
Posted onBy Ana Langer, Director, Maternal Health Task Force and Joy Riggs-Perla, Director, Save the Children’s Saving Newborn Lives program.
When thinking about the term integration for maternal and newborn health care we need to keep our focus with the intended outcome. Our attention should be on providing equitable, high-quality care for both the mother and the newborn.
Over 28,000 Deaths in the First Day of Life in Bangladesh Reminds the Urgency of MNH Services Integration
Posted onBy Mohammod Shahidullah, Professor and Chairman of the Department of Neonatology, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University
The continuum of care has become a rallying call to reduce the maternal deaths, stillbirths, neonatal deaths, and child deaths. Continuity of care is necessary throughout the lifecycle (adolescence, pregnancy, childbirth, the postnatal period, and childhood) and also between places of caregiving (including households and communities, outpatient and outreach services, and clinical-care settings). Within the continuum, all women should have access to care during pregnancy and childbirth, and all babies should be able to grow into children who survive and thrive.
What Are Key Maternal And Newborn Areas To Address? Experiences From a Maternal and Newborn Project in Rural Uganda
Posted onBy Rornald Muhumuza Kananura
In the blog—Who is to blame for the Poor Health Workers Attitudes and how can we cure This Disease by Dr. Elizabeth Ekirapa-Kiracho—it was indicated that some women have opted to give birth at home rather than face the wrath of health workers.
This is true. Through the voices of community and health workers’ voices, I will share with you maternal and newborn challenges based on the experience from the implementation of a maternal and newborn care project in rural communities of Uganda.