-
-
what's new
- ♦ WRA Mourns the Loss of Mercy Ibraye-George
- ♦ Betsy McCallon, Deputy Director of the WRA Global Secretariat, Blogs from the Global Maternal Health Conference in India
- ♦ WRA Announces Winners of America’s Next Inspiration: 50 Young Champions for Women Contest
- ♦ Betsy McCallon, Deputy Director of the WRA Global Secretariat, Blogs from the Global Maternal Health Conference in India
- ♦ Betsy McCallon, Deputy Director of the WRA Global Secretariat, Blogs from the Global Maternal Health Conference in India
technical resources
The White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood was formed to promote increased public awareness of the need to make pregnancy and childbirth safe for all women. Promoting best practices, sharing lessons learned, and disseminating knowledge worldwide is the goal of the Technical Resources page. Publications featuring general information, advocacy and dissemination points, programmatic examples, and training manuals are provided for the various topics listed below. New articles and publications are added periodically, so if you are aware of one not listed that should be posted, please let us know at info@whiteribbonalliance.org. Advocacy
Antenatal care is the care a woman receives throughout her pregnancy, and is important in helping to ensure that women and newborns survive pregnancy and childbirth. The approach to antenatal care has changed over time and the current view is that every pregnant woman is at risk for complications and that all women should therefore receive the same basic care and monitoring for complications. Click on the link to find reports and publications regarding general information and advocacy and dissemination resources on antenatal care.
Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care
Pregnant women, newborns, and infants have special needs, particularly in times of disaster. Women, for example, experience greater rates of health complications associated with pregnancy, including premature births, low-birth weight infants, and infant deaths. Additionally, there is increased sexual violence, exposure to HIV and other STIs, and lack of access to family planning and other services. Furthermore, in all disaster-affected communities, displaced women and infants living in shelters and evacuee camps often experience little social support, poor security, and limited access to humanitarian assistance, transportation, health care, and other services.
As emergency/disaster preparedness plans are developed for all public health concerns, it is imperative that the special needs of these vulnerable populations are taken into consideration.”
The WHO has stated that the health of mothers has long been acknowledged to be a cornerstone of public health and attention to unacceptably high level of maternal mortality has been a feature of global health and development discussions since the 1980s. However, although a few countries have made remarkable progress in recent years, the reality has not generally followed the rhetoric. A consensus has emerged about the interventions needed to reduce maternal mortality and there are good examples, both historical and contemporary, of what can be achieved within a relatively short time period. The activities of both grassroots organizations and international health and development agencies have helped to build political will and momentum. Further progress in improving maternal health will require outspoken and determined champions and substantial and long-term funding. Reports on safe motherhood indicators and maternal mortality are given.
Worldwide, 33.2 million people are estimated to be living with HIV, according to UNAIDS. Furthermore, women make up 15.4 million of those cases, and there are 2.5 million children under the age of 15 living with HIV. In 2007 alone, 420,000 children are estimated to have become infected with HIV. In some parts of the world women make up more than half the HIV infections. It not only compromises their own health, but puts their unborn children at risk of infection as well.
HIV infection can occur and be prevented at many stages. The World Health Organization created a 4 Prong approach to the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV, which includes prevention of HIV infection in women, prevention of unwanted pregnancies for women who are infected with HIV, prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV, and care and treatment for women and children infected with HIV.
This tool kit was created to provide readers with general HIV/AIDS data, programmatic guidelines, and information on all aspects of Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV. This is useful for anyone seeking information to start a program, influence policy, or just learn about Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV in general.
According to the WHO, up to 200,000 newborns die each year as a result of malaria in pregnancy. Malaria is a severe threat to women and their babies, especially in Africa where 30 million women live in malaria-endemic areas and become pregnant each year. Information regarding the prevention, control, and treatment of malaria in pregnancy and childbirth is provided in the resources.
The tremendous magnitude of world-wide newborn deaths has resulted in more attention and work towards implementing the interventions necessary to save newborn lives and lower infant mortality rates. Publications, reports, training guides, and updates on general information, advocacy and dissemination, and additional information regarding many aspects of newborn care are given.
Postpartum hemorrhage is excess blood loss following childbirth. The majority of cases occurs within 24 hours after birth and is due to the failure of the uterus to properly contract after the child is born, which results in uncontrolled bleeding from the blood vessels in the uterus. Without immediate and proper medical attention, a woman with PPH will probably die. Maternal mortality due to PPH is highest where there is poor access to skilled providers, transport systems and emergency services. Information is presented on the active management of the third stage of labor and the use of uterotonic drugs, including misoprostol, to prevent PPH.
Attention and work towards having skilled birth attendants present during childbirth is a current global issue. Data indicates a correlation between having skilled care at delivery and declining maternal mortality. The proportion of births attended by skilled health personnel is a key indicator for the Millennium Development Goal 5 of improving maternal health and reducing maternal mortality. General information, advocacy and dissemination resources, and additional information on the topic of skilled birth attendants can be found by clicking on the link provided.