Namibia: 208 Babies Die At Oshakati
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
The key to saving preterm babies
Having served as a paediatrician for most of my adult life, including over 25 years as a perinatal/neonatal medicine specialist, I know first-hand the joy and anxiety that comes with giving birth. For first-time mothers, especially, even as they eagerly anticipate the birth of their babies, they are scared – of pain, of complications that … Continued
Breaking The Mold For Pregnant Women in Sierra Leone
Leaning over the pregnant patient before her, Regina Korgbendeh touches the woman’s looming stomach and speaks softly in a Kono-dialect: “Thank you for this child.” Blessing an unborn baby is a custom strictly followed in communities throughout Kono, Sierra Leone. Once the prayer is complete, Regina, 48, leads her patient over to a chair, where … Continued
Regional Commissioners take oath to end maternal deaths
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
Detecting and diagnosing infection in women during and after pregnancy in Togo
The Centre for Maternal and Newborn Health (CMNH) has launched a new programme in Togo, which aims to better understand the causes of infection in women during and after pregnancy, and determine the usefulness of an early warning score to detect possible infection. Last month, Dr Mary McCauley, Academic Clinical Lecturer at CMNH, travelled to … Continued
Would you feed your child with another woman’s breast milk?
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
Mothers in Cameroon Are Dying at Shocking Rates. The GFF Will Help Change That.
Despite investing more than its neighbors in sub-Saharan Africa on per-capita health spending, the country of Cameroon struggles to improve the reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health of its people — but that’s about to change. Cameroon ranks 18th among the countries with the highest maternal mortality rates in the world. In 2015, there … Continued
Donated Human Milk: A Lifesaving Option for Vulnerable Infants
Kenya loses an estimated 39 infants for every 1000 live births, translating to over 50,000 babies who die before their first birthday each year. More than half of these deaths occur in the neonatal period – the first month of life – most often due to complications related to prematurity and low birth weight[1]. Essential … Continued
Free maternity services require solid funding
THE heavily pregnant woman lying on the floor in a maternity ward at Harare Central Hospital stretches out her hand to greet First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa. For the briefest moment, the woman forgets about the hard, cold and uncomfortable surface and basks in the glow of being in the presence of “greatness”. A wide grin … Continued
These Women Are Saving Lives, One Pregnancy at a Time
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