Community-based approaches are best to reduce deaths among newborns

"Reducing global neonatal mortality is crucial. In low-income countries, most births and deaths occur at home," state authors of a Policy Forum published in PLoS Medicine this week. David Osrin from University College London and colleagues from Ekjut, India, discuss the critical importance of reducing global neonatal mortality in developing countries and how community-based approaches can help. In their article entitled "Improving Newborn Survival in Low-Income Countries: Community-Based Approaches and Lessons from South Asia" the author stress that "many newborn infants are invisible to health services; care-seeking for maternal and newborn ailments is limited; health workers are often not skilled and confident in caring for newborn infants; and there are inequalities across all these factors." The authors argue that "the best community-based approach is a combination of community mobilizatio n and home visits by community-based workers. Both timing of visits and treatment interventions are critical."

More information:
Nair N, Tripathy P, Prost A, Costello A, Osrin D (2010) Improving Newborn Survival in Low-Income Countries: Community-Based Approaches and Lessons from South Asia. PLoS Med 7(4): e1000246. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000246.

Provided by Public Library of Science