How Kangaroo Mother Care Has Improved Newborn Health Outcomes and Supported Moms in Kenya

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By: Lutomia Mangala, Health Specialist, UNICEF Kenya

Kangaroo mother care involves prolonged continuous skin-to-skin contact between a mother or her surrogate and her preterm or low birth weight infant. For stable preterm infants, this low-cost, high-impact intervention has been shown to offer better thermal regulation and greater health benefits compared to conventional care…read more

10 Lessons From The BetterBirth Study

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By: Katherine Semrau, Director of the BetterBirth Program at Ariadne Labs, Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School and Associate Epidemiologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital Division of Global Health Equity

The BetterBirth Program team at Ariadne Labs and partners recently led one of the world’s largest maternal newborn health trials in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Using bedside peer-coaching of birth attendants and facility managers, along with the World Health Organization’s Safe Childbirth Checklist, researchers focused on improving birth attendants’ use of basic care practices. The results showed marked improvement in care—but no reduction in mortality rates…read more

A Low-Cost Care Bundle Reduces Preterm Infant Mortality in Tanzania

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By: Teertha Arora, Candidate for Masters in Public Health (Global Health), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Despite progress, Tanzania’s under-five mortality rate continues to be high—largely driven by deaths during the first week of birth. A pilot study recently assessed the benefits of a low-cost, evidence-based preventive care bundle on preterm infant mortality. The pilot was introduced at three university-affiliated and one district hospital with support from the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Tanzania…read more

Midwives, Government Officials and International Agencies Meet in Mexico City to Discuss Inclusion of Birth Centers Into the National Health System

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By: Cristina Alonso, Network for Midwifery Centers in Mexico and Luna Maya Birth Center

In January 2018, the Network for Midwifery Centers held an International Best Practices Meeting in Mexico City bringing together stakeholders from the World Health Organization, the Pan-American Health Organization, United Nations Population Fund, the Committee for Safe Motherhood, Federal Ministry of Health, eight State Ministries of Health, academics, midwives, mothers and other grassroots organizations to come to agreement on the role of midwifery centers in improving maternal health in Mexico…read more