Posts Tagged ‘maternal health’

Awareness of Danger Signs & Symptoms of Pregnancy Complication Among Women in Jordan

Monday, May 7th, 2012 by KateMitch

Last month, the International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics published a paper, Awareness of danger signs and symptoms of pregnancy complication among women in Jordan, that explores the levels and determinants of awareness of danger signs of pregnancy complications among pregnant women in Jordan. The researchers found that awareness of danger signs was low and that a number of sociodemographic factors were associated with awareness–such as duration of education, current employment, husband’s duration of education, and others.

 

Take a look at the abstract:

Objective
To assess the level and determinants of awareness of the danger signs and symptoms of pregnancy complication among pregnant Jordanian women aged 15 years and older.

 

Methods
A descriptive cross-sectional study of 350 women attending prenatal care services was performed. Interviews were conducted at 4 public-health centers in Zarqa, Jordan, using a structured questionnaire. Awareness was defined as “knowing at least 4 danger signs and symptoms”.

 

Results
Overall, 84.8% of the women interviewed were not aware of danger signs and symptoms of pregnancy complication. Sociodemographic factors—including duration of education and current employment; husband’s duration of education; family size; and whether women were given information about danger signs and symptoms—were associated with awareness in a binary analysis. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that education level of study participants, their husbands’ education level, and receiving information about danger signs and symptoms were all associated with awareness (P = 0.02 for all associations).

 

Conclusion
Awareness of danger signs and symptoms of pregnancy complication among women in Jordan is low. A need exists to provide prenatal care that includes sufficient information about pregnancy-related danger signs and symptoms to meet the need for safe motherhood, as pointed out by the Millennium Development Goals.

 

Access the article here.

 

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AMREF Calls on Sub-Saharan African Governments to Increase Numbers of Midwives

Friday, May 4th, 2012 by KateMitch

In honor of International Day of the Midwife (tomorrow, May 5th), our colleagues at AMREF shared a blog post today that calls on governments and development partners to invest in training midwives. The post describes the critical role that midwives play in sub-Saharan Africa and outlines the various ways that AMREF is supporting midwives–including their efforts to train 15,000 midwives in sub-Saharan Africa by 2015 as well as their plans to nominate an African midwife for the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize.

 

From AMREF’s post:

Midwife literally translates to “With a Woman” from Latin, reflecting the practice that from time immemorial, women sought the assistance of other women close to them at the time of labour and childbirth. Midwives have therefore been part of the human experience since time immemorial.

 

Up until the advent of modern midwifery in approximately the 17th and 18th centuries when the first schools of midwifery training appeared in Europe, the whole world had approximately the same levels of maternal death during childbirth, roughly 20%, with the most feared causes being hemorrhage and puerperal fever, or infection after childbirth. Today, there is very low maternal mortality in the developed world, not least because of the professionalization of midwifery in those countries. However, approximately 35,000 women continue to suffer severe complications of childbirth daily, with about 900 deaths every day, most in the developing countries of Africa and Asia (The State of the World’s Midwifery 2011)…

 

Read the full story here.

 

Learn more about AMREF’s work to train health workers here.

 

For more information about International Day of the Midwife, visit the International Confederation of Midwives website.

 

Join the conversation about midwives on Twitter: #InternationalDayoftheMidwife and #midwives.

 

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Live Webcast: Essential Obstetric & Newborn Care Meeting in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Thursday, May 3rd, 2012 by KateMitch

 

The Asia Regional Meeting on Interventions for Impact in Essential Obstetric and Newborn Care begins tomorrow, May 4, 2012 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The three-day meeting plans to focus on postpartum hemorrhage, pre-eclampsia and eclampsia as well as other issues relating to maternal and newborn health. The meeting will bring together maternal and newborn health leaders, clinicians, and program managers.

 

The event is sponsored by the Government of Bangladesh, USAID’s flagship Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Integrated Program (MCHIP), and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation-supported Oxytocin Initiative, in collaboration with Women Deliver, VSI, FIGO, and ICM.

 

The live webcast of the meeting will be accessible here: http://www.oneworldgroup.org/mchip

 

Tweeting? The conference hashtag is #MNHDhaka.

 

For more information about the meeting, visit: www.MCHIP.net/MNHDhaka

 

Questions? Send them to info@mchip.com.

 

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Born Too Soon: A Global Action Report on Preterm Birth

Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012 by KateMitch

A report released today, Born Too Soon: The Global Action Report on Preterm Birth, features the first-ever estimates of preterm birth rates by country. The report, coordinated by the March of Dimes, the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health, Save the Children and the World Health Organization, shows that preterm birth is now the leading cause of newborn death around the world.

 

The report makes the case for why preterm birth matters–and how important it is that the global health community pay more focused attention to the issue.

Urgent action is needed to address the estimated 15 million babies born too soon, especially as preterm birth rates are increasing each year. This is essential in order to progress on the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) for child survival by 2015 and beyond, since 40% of under-five deaths are in newborns, and it will also give added value to maternal health (MDG 5) investments. For babies who survive, there is an increased risk of disability, which exacts a heavy load on families and health systems…

 

Learn more about why preterm birth matters.

 

The report goes on to detail the scope of the problem.

Over 60% of preterm births occur in Africa and South Asia. The 10 countries with the highest numbers include Brazil, the United States, India and Nigeria, demonstrating that preterm birth is truly a global problem. Of the 11 countries with preterm birth rates of over 15%, all but two are in sub-Saharan Africa. In the poorest countries, on average, 12% of babies are born too soon compared with 9% in higher-income countries. Within countries, poorer families are at higher risk…

 

Learn more about where and when preterm births are occurring.

 

The report also outlines how preterm birth can be addressed along the continuum of care–starting with interventions that meet the health needs of women before they even become pregnant,  the needs of women during pregnancy and childbirth, as well as the health needs of newborns.

Preconception care has, until recently, been a weak link in the continuum of care. Providing care to women and couples before and between pregnancies (interconception
care) improves the chances of mothers and babies being healthy, and awareness is growing. Preconception care may be defined as “any intervention provided to women and couples of childbearing age, regardless of pregnancy status or desire, before pregnancy, to improve health outcomes for women, newborns and children” (Bhutta et al., 2011a)…

 

Learn more about care before and between pregnancies, care during pregnancy and childbirth, and care of the preterm baby.

 

The report wraps up with a detailed call to action that outlines next steps for the global health community–calling on program implementers and researchers alike, health professionals working all along the continuum of care–to consider how their work might contribute to reducing the burden of babies who are born too soon.

All partners are invited to join this global effort for preterm birth, which is linked closely to the health and care of women and girls, as well as to child survival and global development. Much is being accomplished by individual partners, and each has a unique role to play. By pooling our efforts collaboratively and transparently, with each organization playing to its strengths, our shared goal, as epitomized in Every Woman Every Child, can be realized — a day when pregnancies are wanted and safe, women survive, babies everywhere get a healthy start in life, and children thrive…

 

Read the action plan.

 

For more information about the report, click here. Download the full report.

 

Join the Twitter chat on preterm birth tomorrow, Thursday, May 3rd from 9 am to 4pm EDT. The chat will be led by the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health (PMNCH), Save the Children, the United Nations Foundation (UNF), March of Dimes, the Global Alliance to Prevent Prematurity and Stillbirth (GAPPS) and the Healthy Newborn Network (HNN)– and will bring together experts, professionals, advocates, and parents in a conversation around preterm birth. Hashtag: #BornTooSoon

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Ready-Made Teaching Modules Available for Learning How to Use DHS Reports

Friday, April 27th, 2012 by KateMitch

The MEASURE DHS project provides ready-made teaching modules on the use of Demographic and Health Survey reports to inform health programs and policies. The modules were designed for African Universities as well as public health program staff– and include an instructor guide, Power Point slides, and a number of other resources.

 

From the  MEASURE DHS website:

The DHS Curriculum Facilitator’s Guide is a comprehensive package of ready-made training materials about understanding and using Demographic and Health Survey reports. The curriculum is designed for use in African universities and with public health program staff. Over 25 hours of instruction are divided into seven stand-alone modules designed to be a course on its own or customized and integrated into existing curricula. Each module is complete with instructor guides, Power Point slides, exercises, handouts, pre and post tests and answer keys.

 

Access the teaching modules here.

 

Click here to learn more about DHS data that relates specifically to maternal health.

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Economists, Government Officials, and Maternal Health Experts Gather to Discuss Financial Mechanisms for Maternal and Neonatal Health

Tuesday, April 24th, 2012 by KateMitch

The US Government is currently (April 24th-25th) convening an Evidence Summit on Enhancing Provision and Use of Maternal Health Services through Financial Incentives in Washington DC. The Evidence Summit is part of a week of maternal health activities.  Economists, government officials, and maternal health specialists from the academic and development communities from around the world have gathered to take a closer look at the evidence on the impact of financial mechanisms on maternal and neonatal health outcomes.

 

From our colleagues at USAID:

While maternal mortality in low and middle-income countries remains high, maternal health services are greatly underutilized and often of poor quality. Financial barriers contribute to low use of maternal health services. Financial incentives have been shown to have a positive effect on the demand for health services by reducing or eliminating financial barriers to access and increasing household income, as well as on provision of essential interventions in maternity services. However, specific recommendations for use of financial incentives by governments for increasing and improving maternal health services are lacking.

 

According to USAID, anticipated outcomes of the Evidence Summit include:

  1. initial policy and practice recommendations for LMIC governments and donors;
  2. identification of evidence gaps to inform a unified research agenda; and
  3. creation of a community of practice linking the maternal health and economics communities to advance the evidence base together for sustainable effective use of financial incentives.

 

Learn more about the summit  here.

 

Check out the video of yesterday’s event, Learning From Success: Ministers of Health Discuss Accelerating Progress in Maternal Survival, here.

 

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Live Webcast Today: Ministers of Health Discuss Accelerating Progress in Maternal Survival

Monday, April 23rd, 2012 by KateMitch

The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars is hosting an event today, Learning From Success: Ministers of Health Discuss Accelerating Progress in Maternal Survival, that will bring together Ministers of Health of Afghanistan, Cambodia, the Dominican Republic, and the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health of Rwanda to discuss how their countries have achieved significant improvements in maternal health–despite major challenges.

 

From our colleagues at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars:

Progress towards Millennium Development Goal Five – reduce maternal deaths by three-quarters worldwide – has been the slowest of any, according to the United Nations. Maternal deaths are declining, but not fast enough: every year 350,000 women often die due to preventable causes during childbirth. Greater political willpower is needed if the global maternal health agenda is to move forward.

 

This discussion will feature the Ministers of Health of Afghanistan, Cambodia, the Dominican Republic, and the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Rwanda – countries where there has been tremendous progress in the face of challenge – on the drivers of successful maternal health programs and how such efforts can be accelerated and sustained throughout the developing world.

 

Learn more about the event and check out the live webcast here.

 

The event will be held TODAY from 3-5pm EDT at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC.

 

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Making it Happen: Young Champion of Maternal Health Launches Project in Nigeria

Thursday, April 19th, 2012 by KateMitch

In 2009, the Maternal Health Task Force partnered with Ashoka to launch the first ever international fellowship focused specifically on maternal health. We called it the Young Champions of Maternal Health.  Ifeyinwa Madu Egwaoje, a young woman from Nigeria, had an idea for a project that landed her in the position of being among the first Young Champions. Her idea was about increasing access to maternal and neonatal health care through a combination of home-based antenatal care, birth planning, rigorous training of health workers to be first responders for obstetric emergencies, and improved referral systems in rural Nigeria.

 

Now, just a couple of years later, Ifeyinwa Madu Egwaoje is putting her idea into action. In an article, Implementing my Ashoka Idea, published on the Huffington Post yesterday, Egwaoje describes the maternal health situation in Evboroko community in Nigeria, and discusses her current project, Birthing Project Nigeria, that aims to improve access and quality of maternal and neonatal health care for the women and newborns of Evboroko.

 

The thrills and joy of expecting a new baby can be overwhelming for a lot of couples, especially first-time parents. The excitement comes with breaking the news to family and friends, deciding what birth plan to go for, reading up articles and books about the stages of pregnancy, choosing what midwife and doctor will carry out the delivery, making and going for prenatal appointments. Spending time on the internet getting information. Getting to know the sex of the baby, buying fancy clothes and accessories, organizing luxury baby showers and generally planning for the arrival of your bundle of joy.

 

In a situation where there is no internet to get information about pregnancy, no books to read or doctors and midwives to make prenatal appointments. No money to organize luxury baby showers. No scan machines. No fancy baby clothes for your bundle of joy. The birthing process is no longer a period of excitement but one of burden, fear, uncertainty and sometimes near-death experiences. For the women who live in Evboroko Community in Edo State, this is the stark reality of their lives.

 

Read the full story here.

 

For updates on Ifeyinwa Madu Egwaoje and the Birthing Project Nigeria, follow Egwaoje on Twitter: @IfeyinwaEgwaoje

 

For information on the Young Champions of Maternal Health program, stay tuned to here.

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Apply Now: Reproductive Health Manager with Global Health Strategies

Tuesday, April 17th, 2012 by KateMitch

Global Health Strategies is looking for a Reproductive Health Manager to work with the firm’s senior staff and consultants to develop and implement advocacy and communications strategies for Global Health Strategies’ clients.

 

Clip from the job description:

The Manager will work primarily on projects related to maternal and reproductive health, but may also be expected to contribute to other accounts as needed. Specifically, the Manager, Reproductive Health will:

 

- Coordinate specific projects designed to build awareness, funding and political support for key international maternal and reproductive health issues
- Manage communications activities, including: creating media strategies, drafting talking points, writing press releases, developing op-eds, and pitching journalists
- Manage advocacy activities, including: organizing stakeholder events, developing presentations for global health audiences, creating relevant materials, supporting strategic planning efforts, and drafting proposals and other documents as necessary
- Oversee client relationships, ensuring the needs of the client are met and keeping senior management appraised of project development
- Supervise GHS staff and external consultants
- Create and track project workplans to ensure timely completion of client deliverables
- Organize and attend meetings, briefings, and other events on behalf of GHS’s clients

 

GHS is seeking an intelligent, passionate, experienced reproductive health professional with a sophisticated understanding of advocacy and communications. The individual should possess excellent diplomatic and client relations skills, an effective management style, and should thrive in a fast-paced, demanding environment.

 

View the full job description here.

 

For more job opportunities with Global Health Strategies, click here.

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A Closer Look at the Interconnections: Healthy Mother, Healthy Newborn

Friday, April 13th, 2012 by KateMitch

Written by Shafia Rashid, Family Care International

 

 

There is ample evidence illustrating that the health of a woman and her newborn baby are intimately connected. We know that:

 

  • most maternal and newborn deaths are caused by the mother’s poor health before or during pregnancy or due to inadequate care in the critical hours, days, and weeks after birth
  • when a woman dies in childbirth, her newborn baby is less likely to survive

 

Recent research conducted by Dr. Zulfiqar Bhutta and colleagues at the Aga Khan University in Karachi, Pakistan confirms what we already know, and goes one step further: it identifies which maternal and newborn health interventions benefit both mother and newborn. These include:

 

  • Family planning/birth spacing: Family planning, including counseling on and provision of contraceptive methods, prevents unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortion, and increases spacing between births. Adequate birth spacing (between 18-23 months) reduces the risk of maternal and newborn-related deaths.
  • High-quality antenatal care: Antenatal care provides a critical window to address a range of health care needs, such as treating HIV and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and providing counseling and educational support. Well-designed, good quality ANC reduces the risk of preterm birth, perinatal mortality, and low-birth-weight infants
  • Detection and management of maternal diabetes: Treating maternal diabetes (through dietary advice, glucose monitoring, and insulin) reduces maternal and perinatal morbidity, specifically antenatal high blood pressure and neonatal convulsions.
  • Exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months of life: The benefits of breastfeeding for the mother are both short- and long-term. In the short term, she is likely to recover more rapidly from the birthing process. It also has a significant impact on reducing the risk of breast cancer. For the newborn, exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life is recommended for optimal growth, development, and health.

 

This research is a critical step in better understanding just how deeply interconnected are the health of a woman and that of her newborn baby. It also underscores how vital it is to interconnect health care for women and their newborns — to promote greater efficiency, reduce costs, limit duplication of resources, and achieve greater impact.

 

As part of efforts to promote investment in and implementation of health interventions that can save the lives of both women and their newborn babies, FCI developed two publications summarizing the findings from this research and its impact on advocacy, policy, research, and programming:

 

  • A pocket card for non-technical audiences including policy makers, health officials, and civil society groups.
  • An Executive Summary for program managers and implementers working in low-resource settings.

 

With only three years remaining until the 2015 deadline for achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), this year will be a critical moment for efforts to improve global health. Because the health-related MDGs — and particularly MDG 4 (Reduce child mortality) and MDG 5 (Improve maternal health) — are furthest off-track, advocates, researchers, programmers, and policy makers must work together to develop, support, and implement effective, integrated policies and programs.

 

This post was originally posted on the FCI Blog.

 

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