Innovations In Global Maternal Health Improving Prenatal And Postnatal Care Practices

Whether they are in developed or developing nations, all women are susceptible to dying from complications in childbirth. While some of these complications are unavoidable, many develop during pregnancy and can be prevented or, when caught in time, treated. These difficulties are often a result of inaccessibility to care, inadequate health services, poor prenatal screening, and uninformed mothers, among others, that in many cases are a direct consequence of the mother’s geographical location and economic status. Innovations in Global Maternal Health: Improving Prenatal and Postnatal Care Practices explores new techniques, tools, and solutions that can be used in a global capacity to support women during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period, regardless of their wealth or location. Highlighting a range of topics such as maternal care models, breastfeeding, and social media and internet health forums, this publication is an ideal reference source for world health organizations, obstetricians, midwives, lactation consultants, doctors, nurses, hospital staff, directors, counselors, therapists, academicians, and researchers interested in the latest practices currently in use that can combat maternal mortality and morbidity and lead to healthier women and newborns.

The evaluation of reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health (RMNCH) by the Disease Control Priorities, Third Edition (DCP3) focuses on maternal conditions, childhood illness, and malnutrition. Specifically, the chapters address acute illness and undernutrition in children, principally under age 5. It also covers maternal mortality, morbidity, stillbirth, and influences to pregnancy and pre-pregnancy. Volume 3 focuses on developments since the publication of DCP2 and will also include the transition to older childhood, in particular, the overlap and commonality with the child development volume. The DCP3 evaluation of these conditions produced three key findings: 1. There is significant difficulty in measuring the burden of key conditions such as unintended pregnancy, unsafe abortion, nonsexually transmitted infections, infertility, and violence against women. 2. Investments in the continuum of care can have significant returns for improved and equitable access, health, poverty, and health systems. 3. There is a large difference in how RMNCH conditions affect different income groups; investments in RMNCH can lessen the disparity in terms of both health and financial risk.

Children are the foundation of the United States, and supporting them is a key component of building a successful future. However, millions of children face health inequities that compromise their development, well-being, and long-term outcomes, despite substantial scientific evidence about how those adversities contribute to poor health. Advancements in neurobiological and socio-behavioral science show that critical biological systems develop in the prenatal through early childhood periods, and neurobiological development is extremely responsive to environmental influences during these stages. Consequently, social, economic, cultural, and environmental factors significantly affect a child's health ecosystem and ability to thrive throughout adulthood. Vibrant and Healthy Kids: Aligning Science, Practice, and Policy to Advance Health Equity builds upon and updates research from Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity (2017) and From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development (2000). This report provides a brief overview of stressors that affect childhood development and health, a framework for applying current brain and development science to the real world, a roadmap for implementing tailored interventions, and recommendations about improving systems to better align with our understanding of the significant impact of health equity.

The delivery of high quality and equitable care for both mothers and newborns is complex and requires efforts across many sectors. The United States spends more on childbirth than any other country in the world, yet outcomes are worse than other high-resource countries, and even worse for Black and Native American women. There are a variety of factors that influence childbirth, including social determinants such as income, educational levels, access to care, financing, transportation, structural racism and geographic variability in birth settings. It is important to reevaluate the United States' approach to maternal and newborn care through the lens of these factors across multiple disciplines. Birth Settings in America: Outcomes, Quality, Access, and Choice reviews and evaluates maternal and newborn care in the United States, the epidemiology of social and clinical risks in pregnancy and childbirth, birth settings research, and access to and choice of birth settings.

Within the continuum of reproductive health care, antenatal care provides a platform for important health-care functions, including health promotion, screening and diagnosis, and disease prevention. It has been established that, by implementing timely and appropriate evidence-based practices, antenatal care can save lives. Endorsed by the United Nations Secretary-General, this is a comprehensive WHO guideline on routine antenatal care for pregnant women and adolescent girls. It aims to complement existing WHO guidelines on the management of specific pregnancy-related complications. The guidance captures the complex nature of the antenatal care issues surrounding healthcare practices and delivery, and prioritizes person-centered health and well-being --- not only the prevention of death and morbidity --- in accordance with a human rights-based approach.

Optimizing outcomes for women in labor at the global level requires evidence-based guidance of health workers to improve care through appropriate patient selection and use of effective interventions. In this regard, the World Health Organization (WHO) published recommendations for induction of labor in 2011. The goal of the present guideline is to consolidate the guidance for effective interventions that are needed to reduce the global burden of prolonged labor and its consequences. The primary target audience includes health professionals responsible for developing national and local health protocols and policies, as well as obstetricians, midwives, nurses, general medical practitioners, managers of maternal and child health programs, and public health policy-makers in all settings.

Each year more than 4 million children are born with birth defects. This book highlights the unprecedented opportunity to improve the lives of children and families in developing countries by preventing some birth defects and reducing the consequences of others. A number of developing countries with more comprehensive health care systems are making significant progress in the prevention and care of birth defects. In many other developing countries, however, policymakers have limited knowledge of the negative impact of birth defects and are largely unaware of the affordable and effective interventions available to reduce the impact of certain conditions. Reducing Birth Defects: Meeting the Challenge in the Developing World includes descriptions of successful programs and presents a plan of action to address critical gaps in the understanding, prevention, and treatment of birth defects in developing countries. This study also recommends capacity building, priority research, and institutional and global efforts to reduce the incidence and impact of birth defects in developing countries.

As a low-income country, Ethiopia has made impressive progress in improving health outcomes. This report examines how Ethiopia s Health Extension Program (HEP) has contributed to the country s move toward Univeral Health Coverage (UHC), and to shed light on how other countries may learn from Ethiopia s experiences of HEP when designing their own path to UHC. HEP is one of the government s UHC strategies introduced in a context of limited resources and low coverage of essential health services. The key aspects of the program include the capacity building and mobilization of more than 30, 000 Health Extension Workers (HEWs) targeting more than 12 million model families, and the mobilization of health development army ? to support the community-based health system. Using the HEP-UHC conceptual model and data from Demographic and Health Surveys, the study examines how the HEP has contributed to the country s move toward UHC. During the period that the HEP has been implemented, the country has experienced significant improvements in many dimensions: in terms of socioeconomic, psychological, behavioral, and biological dimensions of the beneficiaries; and in terms of the coverage of health care services. The study finds an accelerated rate of improvements among the rural, less-educated, and the poor population, which is leading to an overall reduction in equity gaps and improvements in the equity indicators including the concentration indices - that suggest a more equitable distribution of resources and health outcomes. The HEP in Ethiopia has demonstrated that an institutionalized community approach is effective in helping a country make progress toward UHC. The elements of success in the HEP include the emphasis on community mobilization which identifies community priorities, engages and empowers community members, and supports their ability to solve local problems. The other aspect of HEP is the emphasis on institutionalization of the activities, which addresses the sustainability of community programs through high level of political commitment, and effective coordination of national policies and leveraging of support from partners. These findings may offer useful lessons for other low income countries facing similar challenges in developing and implementing a sustainable UHC strategy.