This New York Times article “Safe Birth Kits to Reduce Infant Mortality,” published in September 2011, is a short read and great endorsement for clean birth kits. I feel that the article plays down the need for medically trained attendants but the reality is that in many places, clean birth kits used by family members may be mom and baby’s best chance.
Safe Birth Kits to Reduce Infant Mortality
By SINDYA N. BHANOO Published: September 26, 2011
Babies arrive in this world on their own blissful schedules, regardless of war or natural disasters — or the availability of a doctor.
But when babies are delivered in unsanitary conditions without proper care, terrible things can happen to an otherwise healthy child. Each year, close to one million newborns die from infections, according to the World Health Organization.
For this reason, the United Nations Population Fund and numerous aid organizations are distributing so-called safe birth kits in the developing world. The kits usually contain soap, a plastic sheet, a razor blade to cut the umbilical cord, tape, gloves, a towel to wrap the baby in and a pictorial instruction sheet. With these tools, almost anyone can deliver a baby safely.
“The idea is that most of the time, women will deliver without complication,” said Dr. Henia Dakkak, a technical adviser on reproductive health issues at the United Nations Population Fund. “A child, or elderly woman, or any family member can help her — it isn’t rocket science.”
When no help is available, a pregnant woman can use the kit to deliver her own baby, Dr. Dakkak said. Still, in emergencies a trained expert is needed, she added.
Since 2006, the Population Fund has distributed more than 800,000 birth kits in countries like Mozambique, India, Yemen, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The kits are distributed free, so financing is the major obstacle in increasing the kit’s use, Dr. Dakkak said.
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