The Issues

Technical Resources

Do you wish to learn more about safe motherhood? Or perhaps you know the basics but have some questions or want more information or details? Sharing and promoting safe motherhood information and resources is the goal of this section. Publications or links featuring general information, programmatic examples, and other relevant resources such as fact sheets, technical documents and research evidence are provided for the various topics listed below. There is also a wealth of free courses, films and other online resources that will help to enlighten, inform or update you. Here are a few, but check back soon: new information is becoming available all the time. Please send any inquires about this section to: info@whiteribbonalliance.org

GLOBAL E-LEARNING

The USAID Global Health eLearning Center offers a variety of courses to offer up-to-date information. Each course is authored by a subject matter expert or a team of experts, is highly focused, and can be completed in about one to two hours. Although courses are designed to be taken online, a printer-friendly format allows you to download course materials for further study. The eLearning Center is available at no cost and just requires a quick registration. Some of the available courses include:

  • Antenatal Care
  • Essential Newborn Care
  • Family planning 101
  • Malaria in Pregnancy
  • HIV Basics
  • Mother-to-child transmission of HIV
  • Youth reproductive health

http://www.globalhealthlearning.org/login.cfm

Global Woman’s Health Library (GLOWM) is a not-for-profit initiative that provides health professionals worldwide with free access to a vast and constantly updated, peer-reviewed resource of clinical information and guidance. The site features surgical videos, diagnostic atlases, laboratory tests and a special section on Safer Motherhood. http://www.glowm.com/

GENERAL SAFE MOTHERHOOD

World Health Organization Maternal Mortality Fact Sheet
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs348/en/index.html

World Health Organization Recommendations on Improving Maternal Health
http://whqlibdoc.who.int/hq/2007/WHO_MPS_07.05_eng.pdf

UNFPA Safe Motherhood Resource Kit
http://www.unfpa.org/public/mothers/pid/4390/index.htm

2008 Maternal Mortality Estimates (WHO, UNFPA, UNICEF, World Bank)
http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2010/9789241500265_eng.pdf

Amnesty International Report on Maternal Mortality in the US
http://www.amnestyusa.org/demand-dignity/maternal-health-is-a-human-right/the-united-states/page.do?id=1351091

 

COMPLICATIONS OF PREGNANCY AND CHILDBIRTH

Fact Sheet on Emergency Obstetric Care (RAISE Initiative)
http://www.raiseinitiative.org/library/pdf/fs_emoc.pdf

Life Saving Skills for Midwives (LSS)
The LSS manual and training program encourages an expanded role for the midwife in recognizing and responding to life-threatening emergencies in pregnancy and childbirth. The program was developed by the American College of Nurse-Midwives. 
http://www.midwife.org/Life-Saving-Skills-LSS

Postpartum Hemorrhage Prevention and Treatment Resources
Bleeding after childbirth is the leading cause of maternal mortality. This website contains resources posted under the Prevention of Postpartum Hemorrhage Initiative (POPPHI) and includes information and links to a range of organizations working on PPH issues.
http://www.pphprevention.org/resources.php

NEWBORN HEALTH

Healthy Newborn Network
http://www.healthynewbornnetwork.org/page/healthy-newborn-network

New Estimates of Newborn Mortality
http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1001080

Saving Newborn Lives e-Newsletter is available in English, French, Portuguese and Spanish. To sign up for this free monthly update, visit: http://www.maildirect.se/documents/client_data/savethechildren/

The Lancet Neonatal Survival Series
http://www.who.int/child_adolescent_health/documents/lancet_neonatal_survival/en/

Global Alliance to Prevent Prematurity and Stillbirths
The Mission of GAPPS is to lead a collaborative, global effort to increase awareness and accelerate innovative research and interventions that will improve maternal, newborn and child health outcomes
http://www.gapps.org/

Lancet Stillbirth Series
The Series highlights the rates and causes of stillbirth globally, explores cost-effective interventions to prevent stillbirths (as well as maternal and newborn deaths), and sets key actions to halve stillbirth rates. Also included are Comments from professional organizations and parent groups.
http://www.thelancet.com/series/stillbirth

 

FAMILY PLANNING AND CONTRACEPTION

Family Planning Saves Lives (Population Reference Bureau)
Provides valuable information on the health benefits of family planning with a special focus on maternal-child health: http://www.prb.org/pdf09/familyplanningsaveslives.pdf

USAID/ESD Fact sheet on healthy timing and spacing of pregnancy (HTSP)
http://www.esdproj.org/site/DocServer/HTSP_101_Brief_Final_corrected_4.9.08.pdf?docID=1761

Extending Service Delivery Project Resources on Healthy Timing and Spacing of Pregnancy
http://www.esdproj.org/site/PageNavigator/Themes_Spacing

EngenderHealth Family Planning Resources
http://www.engenderhealth.org/pubs/family-planning/index.php

 

HIV/AIDS AND PREVENTION OF MOTHER-TO-CHILD TRANSMISSION OF HIV (PMTCT)

UNAIDS
http://www.unaids.org/en/KnowledgeCentre/Resources/Publications/

UNICEF Resources on Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV
http://www.unicef.org/aids/index_documents.html#PMTCT

AIDSTAR-One is USAID's global HIV/AIDS project that provides support and technical assistance to teams working across the world. Focus areas include: Prevention, Treatment, Counseling and Testing, Care and Support, Gender, Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children, and PMTCT. http://www.aidstar-one.com/

World Health Organization Resources on Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV:

Guidelines on HIV and Infant Feeding--A programming guide for infant feeding in the context of HIV: http://www.who.int/child_adolescent_health/documents/9789241599535/en/index.html

Antiretroviral Drugs for Treating Pregnant Women and Preventing HIV Infection in Infants is a programming guide providing international standards, primarily for low- and middle income settings, in support of the global scale-up of more effective interventions aimed at preventing mother to child transmission of HIV in resource-limited settings.
http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2010/9789241599818_eng.pdf

HIV Prevention in Maternal Health Services: Key HIV/STI Prevention Messages for Pregnant and Postpartum Women (UNFPA and EngenderHealth) HIV and infant feeding: http://www.engenderhealth.org/files/pubs/hiv-aids-stis/hiv_prev_key_messages_card.pdf

 

EMERGENCY AND CONFLICT SITUATIONS

Woman and Infant Services Package
Publication developed by a National Working Group for Woman and Infant Needs in Emergencies in the United States
http://www.whiteribbonalliance.org/wra/assets/file/WISP.Final.07.27.07.pdf

World Alliance for Breastfeeding factsheet on feeding infants in emergencies
http://www.waba.org.my/pdf/Factsheet.pdf

Infant and Young Child Nutrition Project resources for feeding infants in emergencies
http://www.iycn.org/infant-feeding-and-emergencies.php

Inter-agency Reproductive Health Kits for Crisis Situations
The Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP) for Reproductive Health is a priority set of life?saving activities to be implemented at the onset of every humanitarian crisis. It forms the starting point for reproductive health programming and should be sustained and built upon with comprehensive reproductive health services throughout protracted crises and recovery. This manual is an important part of the MISP package.
http://www.rhrc.org/resources/rhrkit.pdf