Recorded presentation

La Rue K. Seims, MPH, MA, Save the Children, 2000 M Street, NW, Suite 500, Washington, DC 20036, 202 261 4697, lseims@dc.savechildren.org

Purpose of the Work to Be Presented: To demonstrate that newborns are not receiving the care they need to survive.

Data or Information Used:

Surveys were conducted in 2002-3 in six countries to determine whether newborns were receiving a checkup by a trained provider within 3 days and 1 week after birth. The countries were Bangladesh, Bolivia, Mali, Malawi, Pakistan, and Nepal. Qualitative studies were also conducted to explore why newborns were not receiving care.

Methods Used:

Surveys used the WHO-recommended 30-cluster methodology or Lot Quality Assurance Sampling (LQAS). Qualitative studies used focus groups and other methods.

Major Results:

Two-thirds of all infants dying worldwide are newborns; yet, they are not receiving checkups. Of countries surveyed, the proportion of new mothers whose newborn received care within a week of birth ranged from a high of 54 percent in Bolivia to a low of only eight percent in Malawi. Data were collected and will be presented showing how the likelihood of receiving postnatal care relates to counseling on postnatal problems, knowledge of danger signs, whether the mother received care, and other safe motherhood and newborn care practices.

Recommendations or Policy Implications:

Early newborn care, both at health facilities and in the home, needs to be promoted and supported within existing as well as new, targeted service delivery strategies. In addition, data on newborn care are rarely collected in national HMIS or in national surveys. Newborn care indicators need to be added to both national HMIS and national surveys to assess whether newborns are receiving care at this crucial time and to monitor whether interventions to promote newborn checkups are successful.

Learning Objectives: