Most children who die before the age of one month could be saved through quality childbirth care

The proportion of deaths in newborns worldwide has come growing for a few years, usually occur in poor and disadvantaged populations, although there are many cases that leave this parameter. Among the deaths of children under five, they represent 44 percent.

The British magazine The Lancet, today presented an innovative investigation, to show that the majority of the almost three million children who die before their first birthday could be saved if they received quality care in childbirth. And this is especially relevant in the case of vulnerable babies or at risk of social exclusion.

The research is called 'Every Newborn', and identifies the most effective interventions to save newborns: breastfeeding, resuscitation, 'kangaroo care' for premature babies, as well as infection prevention and treatment. It has been prepared together with experts from UNICEF, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Agha Khan University, in Pakistan, among others.

Of course, it is also necessary to have adequate equipment and higher levels of financing

Countries that have made the greatest progress in saving the lives of newborns have paid special attention to this groupor, within the general care that extends to mothers and children under five years. For example, Rwanda - the only country in Sub-Saharan Africa to achieve it - has reduced the number of deaths of newborns by half since 2000.

Some low and middle income countries are making significant progress thanks, among other methods, to the training of midwives and nurses in the care of the poorest families with better quality care in childbirth, especially for babies born with little weight or sick.

A survey conducted in the 51 countries that concentrate the highest number of newborn deaths showed that, if the quality of care received in the richest countries were universalized, there would be 600,000 fewer deaths per year, or what is the same: a 20 percent reduction

According to UNICEF Health Chief (Mickey Chopra), 'Focusing on the critical moment between birth and the first hours of life would exponentially increase the chances of survival of babies and their mothers'.

The highest annual figures for these types of deaths are in Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, with India, Nigeria and Pakistan leading the way. In the most punished countries, every dollar invested in the health of the mother or baby reverts to a social and economic benefit nine times higher.

UNICEF and the World Health Organization will launch next month the 'Every Newborn' Action Plan with the objective of end the preventable deaths of mothers and their children before 2035.

Video: Giving birth costs a lot. Hospitals won't tell you how much. (March 2024).