I am excited about this article, “Five Maternal Health Innovations That Could Save Lives on the PBS Newshour site. Check it out for full details of each project. I love, love, love seeing these innovative, simple solutions.
Here is the list of 5 and short descritptions:
1. Preventing low birth weight with chewing gum
Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas
…Some chewing gums contain sugar alcohols, called polyols, that prevent gum disease2…
2. Stopping HIV transmission with a vacuum pack
Duke University from Durham, N.C.
…Duke University developed a foil, polyethylene pouch — much like a fast-food ketchup pouch — that can store medicine for months so that ARVs can be administered as soon as a child is born…
3. Mobile heart monitoring and data gathering
Save the Children Federation from Westport, Conn.
—A mobile fetal heart rate monitor powered by human energy, which won a 2009 Index award, and a mobile phone based data gathering platform will be tested together to improve monitoring…
4. An innovative alternative to forceps
The World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland
…The devices is a film-like polyethylene material that looks like an open plastic bag wrapped around the head of the baby, sealed and used to help extraction during complications…
5. Diagnosing with paper stamps
Diagnostics for All, Inc. from Cambridge, Mass.
…Diagnostics for All will create two postage stamp-sized paper tools that can detect anemia and hypoglycemia and hypertensive disorders, all indicators of high-risk pregnancy…
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