Photo of the Week: Newborn Mortality in Indonesia

 Despite significant reductions in the past decades, the newborn mortality rate in Indonesia remains high. According to the 2007/2008 Indonesian Demographic and Health Survey (SDKI), 56% of infant deaths occurred in the first 28 days of life. Nearly 80% of these newborn deaths happened within the first week of life, and more than half within the first 48 hours after birth. The introduction of a model to deliver essential newborn care based on skilled attendance at birth and immediate and early postnatal care in the first week of life, has the potential to significantly reduce neonatal mortality in Indonesia.

Here, midwife Ade checks mother Fitriani and her healthy 6-day-old newborn baby Zahira during a postnatal home visit. Midwives and other frontline health workers with midwifery skills are the single most important cadre for preventing maternal, neonatal deaths and stillbirths. There is a global critical shortage of 3.5 million health workers, including 350,000 midwives, without whom millions of women and newborns are at risk.

Credit: Fauzan Ijazah/Save the Children

Related:

• Healthy Newborn Network Partners in Indonesia:
  http://www.healthynewbornnetwork.org/country/indonesia
• Yes, we can! Saving Newborn Lives in Indonesia: http://www.healthynewbornnetwork.org/resource/yes-we-can-saving-newborn-lives-indonesia
• The State of the World's Midwifery 2011: Delivering Health, Saving Lives: http://www.healthynewbornnetwork.org/resource/state-worlds-midwifery-2011-delivering-health-saving-lives
• VIDEO: 'Mother Robin' Delivers for Poor Women in Indonesia: http://www.healthynewbornnetwork.org/multimedia/video/mother-robin-delivers-poor-women-indonesia
  
• Resources and Tools for Midwives: http://www.healthynewbornnetwork.org/page/midwives