WHO urges quality care for women and newborns in critical first weeks after childbirth (WHO)

WHO HNN Team

This article was published by WHO. New recommendations stress urgency of both physical and mental health support in postnatal period GENEVA, 30th March 2022 The World Health Organization (WHO) today launched its first ever global guidelines to support women and newborns in the postnatal period – the first six weeks after birth. This is a … Continued

Maternal, newborn health improves in rural Ethiopia but inequities still exist

Addis Standard Ethiopia HNN Team

This story was originally published by the Addis Standard. Community-based health programs in parts of rural Ethiopia, Nigeria, and India were successful in improving health care for mothers and newborns, but inequities still exist, according to a new study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). “Our findings have both an optimistic and a pessimistic interpretation, … Continued

Inside the Ebola treatment centres of Congo, where survivors bring hope to those on the edge of death

The Telegraph Democratic Republic of the Congo HNN Team

This article was originally published in The Telegraph (UK) here. For a patient diagnosed with perhaps the world’s most chilling disease, Congo’s Ebola treatment centres are a terrifying place to be. From the moment their blood tests positive, victims are placed in hermetically sealed bio-secure units. As they teeter between life and death, almost the … Continued

Creating a haven for quality primary care in Niger State, Nigeria: The Fuka example

Nigeria Health Watch Nigeria HNN Team

This article was originally published on Nigeria Health Watch here. On a cold drizzling morning in Fuka village, Munya local government area (LGA), Niger State, three-day-old Oscar has just been bathed and dressed by his grandmother. He looks healthy in his sweater and lies comfortably in his mother’s arms. Twenty-three-year-old Mary, his mother, had just … Continued

Providing additional support to women in Burkina Faso can boost rates of exclusive breastfeeding

London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Burkina Faso HNN Team

Intervention potential route to improving child health in West Africa Interventions which educate and support new mothers in West Africa to exclusively breastfeed (where infants are only fed breast milk) can significantly increase the practice, according to new research published in The Lancet Global Health. In a randomised trial of new mothers in Burkina Faso, led … Continued

Better birth: Labour Ward project improves a community health centre in India

M4ID India HNN Team

In December, M4ID and partners inaugurated a new and enhanced Basta community health centre in Odisha, India. Final strokes of paint, last few screws tightened, new carpets rolled out, a final sweeping of the floors – and a hug! In December, product design lead Nicolas Flittner had an exciting trip to Balasore district in Odisha, … Continued

Where Doulas Calm Nerves and Bridge Cultures During Childbirth

New York Times HNN Team

HALMSTAD, Sweden — Maria Hussein, who escaped the war in Syria, was many hours into labor in a Swedish hospital when the midwife realized her fetus was in distress, and called in an obstetrician to help. The doctor began giving Ms. Hussein instructions and reassurance in Swedish. Oksana Kornienko, who works as a doula culture … Continued

Regional Commissioners take oath to end maternal deaths

The Citizen Tanzania, United Republic of HNN Team

Dar es Salaam. Regional commissioners across the country yesterday took an oath as part of the government’s new move to stop deaths related to pregnancy, child-birth and newborns’ ill health. The role of political leaders’ commitment in the control of maternal deaths and improving newborns health has been highlighted by maternal health researchers. The deaths … Continued

A Day in the Life of a Community Health Worker

USAID Afghanistan Afghanistan HNN Team

SACRIFICING TO MEET NEEDS Shakila is a volunteer Community Health Worker at a health post in Enjil District, Herat Province. Every day, prior to working a typical 24 hour shift at the health post, she leaves her two-year old son, Mohammad Moshfe, with her mother-in-law. “Everyone is welcome here. Enjil is a poor district. It … Continued

These Women Are Saving Lives, One Pregnancy at a Time

New York Times Sierra Leone, Uganda HNN Team

Regions of sub-Saharan Africa have some of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world. Geographical obstacles, scarce financial resources and the terrors of political insurrection can transform what should be one of the happiest times of a woman’s life into a race for survival. While this issue has been covered extensively from a geopolitical … Continued