‘Miracle’ six-day-old baby survives Ebola

BBC News Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, South Sudan HNN Admin

A baby girl who was diagnosed with Ebola when she was only six days old has survived, health officials in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have confirmed. Baby Benedicte’s mother was infected with Ebola and died during childbirth. Benedicte showed symptoms only days later and it has taken five weeks of round-the-clock treatment to … Continued

Ebola in Congo now infecting newborn babies, UN says

Associated Press Congo HNN Admin

LONDON (AP) — The World Health Organization says a worrying number of the newest Ebola cases amid Congo’s ongoing outbreak are in patients not usually known to catch the disease: babies. In an update published this week, the U.N. health agency reported 36 new confirmed cases of Ebola, including seven in newborn babies and infants … Continued

Namibia: 208 Babies Die At Oshakati

All Africa HNN Admin

Forty-eight hours – that is how long most newborn babies survive at the Oshakati State Hospital in the Oshana region. At least 150 premature babies out of more than 1 000 who are either admitted or born at the Oshakati State Hospital yearly do not survive. This year alone, the hospital recorded 208 neonatal deaths … Continued

Is India’s Healthcare System Failing Premature Babies Even Before They Are Born?

First Post India HNN Admin

An estimated 15 million babies are born too early every year, or in other words, preterm (before 37 completed weeks of gestation). That is more than 1 in 10 babies. Approximately 1 million children die each year due to complications of preterm birth. Many survivors face a lifetime of disability, including learning disabilities and visual … Continued

Would you feed your child with another woman’s breast milk?

Standard Media Kenya HNN Admin

While wet nursing is not a new phenomenon among Kenyan societies, the concept of pooling milk together in a bank is. Women from religious history would breastfeed the children of other women but this would be directly from the breast. Moses of the Bible times and Prophet Mohammed of the Quran both had wet nurses. … Continued

Looming famine threatens the lives of 2 million pregnant women and new mothers in Yemen

UNFPA Yemen HNN Admin

SANA’A, Yemen – Four years into conflict, Yemen has become home to the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. Over 22 million people are in need of immediate humanitarian assistance. Two thirds of the population do not know when their next meal will come. “Some days I cannot provide food [for my children],” said 28-year-old … Continued

Inside a Neonatal Clinic in South Sudan: ‘In Some Ways, It Felt Wrong to Be Here’

New York Times South Sudan HNN Admin

JUBA, South Sudan — We noticed the quiet first. As we removed our dirt-caked sneakers, slipped on flip flops and entered the nursery in Juba Teaching Hospital’s newborn ward, a hushed tension washed over us. A bulb flickered relentlessly above the dozen or so newborns in the room. Many of the babies here weighed less … Continued

Born Too Soon in a Country at War. Their Only Hope? This Clinic.

New York Times South Sudan HNN Admin

This baby girl has stopped breathing. She was born prematurely and is only 3 weeks old. Her mother, Restina Boniface, took her to the only public neonatal clinic in South Sudan. The country is one of the toughest places in the world for newborns with health problems to survive. Ten feet away sits a donated … Continued

Probiotic Bacteria Could Protect Newborns From Deadly Infection

NPR HNN Admin

If you’re in desperate need for some good news, look no further. Scientists in the U.S. and India have found an inexpensive treatment that could possibly save hundreds of thousands of newborns each year. And it turns out, the secret weapon was sitting in Asian kitchens all along: probiotic bacteria that are common in kimchi, … Continued

Nigeria gets action plan to cater for sick newborns

The Guardian Nigeria

The Federal Government has launched three new policy documents to tackle health of newborns. They are Nigeria Every Newborn Action Plan, Essential Newborn Care Course (ENCC) training package and National Chlorhexidine Scale Up Strategy document. The action plan is to serve as a roadmap that focuses on packages of interventions that address care during labour, … Continued