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India's Maternal Health Experiment: Paying Women for Facility Births

February 07, 2012

India’s Maternal Health Experiment: Paying Women for Facility Births

In 2005, India launched the largest conditional cash transfer program in the world with its Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) initiative. JSY, which roughly translates to “Safe Motherhood Scheme”, provides cash payments to pregnant women who deliver in public medical facilities, as well as the women health workers who accompany them. JSY was established in response to India’s persistently high rates of maternal and neonatal mortality, which account for approximately 20% and 31% of the worldwide totals.

Lillian Njuu says she’s willing to pay for a clean cookstove because of the heal

Preventing Pneumonia With Clean Cookstoves

February 01, 2012

Lillian Njuu, pictured here, says she’s willing to pay for a clean cookstove because of the health benefits for her family

Do you know the leading cause of death in children worldwide? It kills an estimated 1.4 million children under 5 each year—more than malaria, tuberculosis and AIDS combined. Many will be surprised to learn that the answer is pneumonia, an acute lung infection that can be treated with antibiotics and prevented with immunization, adequate nutrition and simple environmental interventions.

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Using Maternova Products with Maasai Women at the last mile in Tanzania

January 27, 2012

This is truly the 'last mile' as they call it. Here is a note from a recent trip to Northern Tanzania:

"Our (a M. D. and myself) work in Northern Tanzania was difficult but fulfilling. We were providing services in a Maasai area that people have to walk more than 10 miles to get medical services. Even in a car it takes 45 minutes because the roads are so bad. The government has set up a clinic out in this area, but besides building the building, they don’t really keep it stocked or staffed. Most people don’t even go because they can’t do anything. We had people walking over ten miles from up in the hills to come to our temporary clinic.

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Argentinean car mechanic's inspired idea for safer birth: The Odon Device

January 19, 2012

The following post is cross- posted with permission from the Healthy Newborn Network's Technology and Innovation for Maternal and Newborn Health. It was originally posted on (USAID's IMPACT blog)[http://blog.usaid.gov/].

It all started with friendly bet amongst friends – who could get a cork out of an empty wine bottle with only a plastic bag? The friends had seen the trick on YouTube earlier and wanted to re-enact it.

Somehow, Saving Lives at Birth finalist Jorge Odon, an Argentinian car mechanic with no medical background, drew a connection between the trick and obstructed labor, which is a major contributor to maternal mortality. The idea came to him in the dead of the night. Inspired, he woke up his wife to share his idea.

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120 year old Method of Fetal Monitoring where there is no Electricity

January 17, 2012

Fetal heart rate is an important indicator of fetal health. For this reason, significant resources have been employed adapting ultrasound machines for use in low-resource settings. However, for over a century doctors and midwives have successfully monitored fetal heart rate using a more basic method—a type of stethoscope known as the pinard horn.

A simple recipe to save 40% of newborns and 50% of mothers

January 11, 2012

Let’s sum it up simply—to save mothers we need to manage postpartum hemorrhage, eclampsia and sepsis. To save newborns it’s: breastfeeding, antenatal care and close management of hypothermia and pneumonia. During October’s MH Buzz Meeting, Dr. Zulfiqar A. Bhutta of Pakistan’s Aga Khan University drove home the value of simple, evidence-based interventions for maternal and newborn health and the work out of Aga Khan.

Ummul-gargaar: “Help for a new mother who has just given birth”

December 18, 2011

Misoprostol is part of the WHO’s List of Essential Medicines for the prevention of post-partum hemorrhage (PPH). In addition, multiple studies have proven that misoprostol is a safe, effective alternative for oxytocin. But to date, very few countries have established nationwide misoprostol programs.