An estimated 14.8 million babies are born preterm every year, before 37 completed weeks of gestation.1 Of these, around a million die because of direct complications,2 another 912 000 have mild to severe neurodevelopmental impairment, and many more have milder disabilities or suboptimal child development.3 A preterm baby’s chance of survival and development depends largely on where they live with […]

Evidence shows that breastfeeding has many health, human capital and future economic benefits for young children, their mothers and countries. The new Cost of Not Breastfeeding tool, based on open access data, was developed to help policy-makers and advocates have information on the estimated human and economic costs of not breastfeeding at the country, regional and global […]

Catalytic progress fostered by Saving Newborn Lives and other programs helped put newborn health solidly on the global policy agenda. As we celebrate progress, let’s also redouble our efforts to address the unfinished newborn health agenda. We invite you to read the recently released Newborn Health Legacy, a timeline illustrating some of the important milestones in the newborn […]

More mothers are attending health facilities to deliver their babies, yet 2.6 million babies are stillborn every year, more than a third (42%) of those in Sub-Saharan Africa. What approaches can we apply to prevent stillbirths? Pregnancy should be a time of joyful anticipation about the arrival of a new family member. But each year, […]

As management of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) advances, clinicians must continually revise their current practice. Find a link below for the fourth update of “European Guidelines for the Management of RDS” by a European panel of experienced neonatologists and an expert perinatal obstetrician based on available literature up to the end of 2018. Optimising outcome […]

For babies who are born healthy, the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends to delay cord clamping . It means that the umbilical cord is not clamped immediately after birth but after waiting one to three minutes. That way, the baby is still connected to the placenta and receives oxygen rich blood and essential nutrients. However, […]

We recently came across an interesting leadership book-The Leadership Challenge by Kouzes and Posner. It sets out 5 Practices and 10 Commitments for exemplary leadership. We challenge you to ask yourself how many of the 10 commitments you meet as a leader? It might be food for thought and prompt revision of your leadership style?! […]

Early total enteral feeding – An effective intervention to improve outcomes in very low birth weight (VLBW) neonates in resource limited settings. Early appropriate nutrition and infection prevention are vital for the survival of a preterm infant. These issues are interconnected when delayed enteral feeds leads to intravenous intervention, which can result in infection. Read […]

Factors Impacting Practice of Home Kangaroo Mother Care with Low Birth Weight Infants Following Hospital Discharge To identify enablers and barriers related to home Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) adoption after hospital discharge. Read more here: Factors Impacting Practice of Home Kangaroo Mother Care with Low Birth Weight Infants Following Hospital Discharge

WHO has been made aware of multiple, recent reports of eye injury, including blindness, with the use of chlorhexidine gluconate 7.1%, in nine countries in sub Saharan Africa. Chlorhexidine gluconate (CHX), available as an aqueous solution or as a gel (delivering 4% chlorhexidine), is used in umbilical cord care, and is listed in the WHO […]

Our Gauteng branch is excited and ready for 2019! Well done ladies! See the dates of their planned branch meetings below and pop them in your diary now. 2 March 25 May 17 August 16 November Let us know if you have any suggested speakers, topics or new ideas. Hope to see a lot of […]

1.7 million newborn lives could be saved each year by investing in access to quality care for every newborn, everywhere, including in humanitarian settings. While essential newborn care would benefit small and sick newborns, adding special and intensive care services for them would reduce neonatal mortality by almost 50%. It would also promote child development […]

A NNASA board member was a contributing author to the international Survive and Thrive: Transforming Care for Every Small and Sick Newborn Key Findings report- in particular aspects of the report focusing on the important role parents can play in optimizing outcomes for their newborn. #EveryNewborn can and will thrive as productive members of our societies, […]

An estimated 15 million babies are born too early every year. That is more than 1 in 10 babies. Approximately 1 million children die each year due to complications of preterm birth (1). Many survivors face a lifetime of disability, including learning disabilities and visual and hearing problems.