Newborn survival: putting children at the centre

Abstract

Published online March 3, 2005. http://image.thelancet.com/extras/05cmt82web.pdf A continuum of care to save newborn livesThe global community recently declared a commitment to “create an environment—at the national and global levels alike—which is conducive to development and to the elimination of poverty”.1 This declaration led to an agreement on eight goals in key areas of global concern: the Millennium Development Goals. Central among those goals are two that aim to reduce maternal and child mortality, goals 4 and 5. Investment in maternal, newborn, and child health is not only a priority for saving lives, but is also critical to advancing other goals related to human welfare, equity, and poverty reduction. Full-Text PDF Epidemiological transition, medicalisation of childbirth, and neonatal mortality: three Brazilian birth-cohortsOver the past two decades, Brazil has seen improvements in women's nutritional status, education, smoking habits, and antenatal care. Neonatal mortality rates (deaths of liveborn infants up to 1 month of age), however, have changed little. In this issue of The Lancet, Fernando Barros and colleagues present fascinating data from three birth-cohorts which suggest that falling mortality in term infants (37 weeks' gestation or more) has been offset by a rise in preterm births and deaths, resulting in little change in neonatal mortality. Full-Text PDF Conceiving and dying in AfghanistanSince the first International Safe Motherhood Conference in 1987, there has been increased focus on maternal health and maternal mortality. The design and implementation of effective programmes for maternal health require data of adequate quality, despite the challenges of generating such data.1 Typical approaches have produced data of low quality and limited usefulness.2 Therefore, Linda Bartlett and colleagues' report in today's Lancet is of particular merit for its use of rigorous methodology. Full-Text PDF 4 million neonatal deaths: When? Where? Why?The proportion of child deaths that occurs in the neonatal period (38% in 2000) is increasing, and the Millennium Development Goal for child survival cannot be met without substantial reductions in neonatal mortality. Every year an estimated 4 million babies die in the first 4 weeks of life (the neonatal period). A similar number are stillborn, and 0·5 million mothers die from pregnancy-related causes. Three-quarters of neonatal deaths happen in the first week—the highest risk of death is on the first day of life. Full-Text PDF