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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.

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.

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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.

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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.

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New Diagnostics for Infant HIV Diagnosis
November 29, 2011

The critical first step in accessing lifesaving antiretroviral therapy (ART) is knowledge of one’s HIV status. Although voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) has been scaled up significantly in recent years, population surveys conducted in 2007-2009 by the WHO indicate that on average, less than 40% of individuals living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa are aware of their status.

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