Namibia: 208 Babies Die At Oshakati

All Africa HNN Team

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

Daily Nation Kenya HNN Team

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

Verve Up Sierra Leone HNN Team

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

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

Detecting and diagnosing infection in women during and after pregnancy in Togo

Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Centre for Maternal and Newborn Health Togo HNN Team

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?

Standard Media Kenya HNN Team

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.

Global Citizen Cameroon HNN Team

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

County Innovation Challenge Fund Kenya HNN Team

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

NewsDay Zimbabwe HNN Team

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

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