The administration of oxytocin
In addition to care by a skilled attendant, women and babies require high-quality care in the period just before, during and just after birth, when the risk of mortality is highest. These crucial services, part of a continuum of care that Tiffany 1837 Bar drop earringsbegins before pregnancy and extends through early childhood, include:
* The administration of oxytocin to prevent post-partum hemorrhage, the leading cause of maternal deaths.
* Services to prevent and treat birthPaloma's X earrings complications if they develop.
* Tetanus immunization for mothers.
* Early initiation of breastfeeding.
* Postnatal visits including family planning Paloma Picasso Loving Heart earrings screening for maternal complications.
* Immunizations for babies.
* Bednets for protection against malaria.
* Antibiotics for pneumonia.
"During this critical period of birth and the first few days of life, far more than 50 percent of maternal and newborn deaths can be prevented by the initiation of these simple interventions, as part of a continuum of care that links home and hospital," says Joy Lawn, M.D., of Save the Children.
"Many can be administered by trained community health workers or shifted to other carefully supervised workers."
Evidence from Bangladesh and Nepal, cited in Elsa Peretti Eternal Circle earringsthe Countdown report, shows that implementing policies to permit community health workers to offer treatment for diarrhea and pneumonia - two leading killers of children - is effective in reducing child deaths.
The data shows that survival of children under age 5 is also closely linked to maternal health. "When a mother dies, her newborn baby is unlikely to survive, and all of her children suffer," says Dr. Lawn.
A good news/bad news report
The new report provides a mix of good and bad news. One good news message is that the under-5 child mortality rate has declined by 28 percent, from an estimated 90 deaths per 1000 live births in 1990 to 65 deaths per 1000 in 2008, accounting for a reduction of nearly 4 million child deaths per year.
