How can we reduce newborn mortality along the continuum of care?
The continuum of care refers to the integration of health services throughout the lifecycle, accessed at the appropriate time and place.
An effective continuum of care connects essential maternal, newborn, and child health packages throughout adolescence, pregnancy, childbirth, and the postnatal and newborn periods, building upon their natural interactions throughout the lifecycle. To do this, we must strengthen the linkages between the home, first-level facilities, and hospitals, assuring that appropriate care is easily accessible. Newborn health is a sensitive marker of a functional continuum of care because of its reliance on strong linkages between maternal and child health programs and minimizing delays in care for birth complications and sick newborns. There is a robust evidence base for packages of essential interventions that can save the lives of mothers and newborns. These proven interventions are highly cost effective when delivered within the continuum of care.