Maternal, Newborn, and Adolescent Health

Every year about 44 million abortions take place worldwide. Roughly half of these abortions occur in legally restricted settings and are unsafe. As a result, unsafe abortion is a major contributor to maternal mortality and morbidity. Tens of thousands of women die and millions more suffer disabilities from unsafe abortion each year; women in the Global South, and in particular women in low-resource and conflict-affected settings, are the ones who bear the burden of this global health inequity.

The Mama River+ Program aims to address high maternal and neonatal mortality rates, starting in the Peruvian Amazon, by empowering community agents to act as first-level service providers for pregnant women, to ensure adherence to adequate maternal and newborn care. With $1M CAD in grant financing, the Mama River+ Program expects to enroll 1,150 mother-infant pairs living in the extremely impoverished and remote regions of the Peruvian Amazon.

Neonatal mortality rate has decreased dramatically in Peru in the last two decades. However, unacceptable gaps between the poorest and richest quintiles remain (14.7 vs. 7.6 deaths per 1,000 live births). Neonatal asphyxia accounts for more than 20% of these deaths. One critical reason is that, although the coverage of institutional deliveries has also increased, the quality of management of newborns with asphyxia is far from optimal, due to the lack of adequately trained health personnel.

We developed a software that communicates with pregnant women using SMS text messaging and via Facebook messenger with the goal of identifying adverse health events, behaviors or social issues that could potentially harm the mother or child. These so-called "chatbots", send highly personalized and engaging healthcare content during pregnancy and asks questions about symptoms and behaviors, such as UTIs and antenatal appointment attendance.

Iron deficiency anaemia during pregnancy is a known risk factor for preterm birth, low birthweight and small-for-gestational age babies, and increases the risk of postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) which is the leading cause of maternal mortality in India. Distribution of iron tablet to the target beneficiaries has low adherence rate that we aim to overcome. Socio-economic conditions, pilferages, non-compliance & non-availability of interventions have hindered global efforts to tackle anaemia.

Maternal mortality ratio in Ghana continues to be high at 144 per 100,000 live births in 2014, there is low uptake of modern family planning services particularly Intra Uterine Devices (IUDs) which have been shown to be safe, highly effective, cost-effective and available. Currently, only midwives are trained to provide IUD services and on average 1 midwife to 1475 women of reproductive age. The study seeks to assess the feasibility of task-sharing to enable auxiliary nurses provide IUD services

One in five adolescent girls in the Dominican Republic (DR) are or have been pregnant by the time they turn 20 years old (ENDESA). Adolescent pregnancy increases physical and mental health risks for women, and is a major contributor to poverty (WHO). Children of adolescent mothers are also more likely to experience serious health problems at birth. Prevention of adolescent pregnancy is currently a key maternal and child health (MCH) priority of the Dominican Ministry of Health.

In Kenya the 4th ANC access and skilled delivery stands at 58% and 61% respectively while Narok County is at 46% and 38.6% (KDHs 2014). Narok County also has the highest number of teenage pregnancy at 40% while nationally it is 18%. The girls give birth at home via the Traditional Birth Attendants (TBA) and not accessing skilled delivery ANC services due to stigma and ignorance concerning RMNCH services. These contribute to the high maternal morbidity and mortality, neonatal deaths in Kenya

In Mozambique, poor maternal and child health, high rates of child marriage, vulnerability to HIV and lack of gender equity for girls are all exacerbated by lack of health knowledge and access to and utilization of Family Planning methods among young women. For Hair and More overcomes the systemic gaps in an unsustainable health education and supplies distribution model as well as the cultural barriers that inhibit girls and young women from adopting life-saving behaviors.

Lack of essential healthcare is a significant reason of mother & child morbidity/mortality in Pakistan. While access to services is a major factor, people’s inadequate knowledge and lack of motivation towards healthful steps is also a contributor. Gender imbalance and fatalistic beliefs are important underlying factors. Innovations are required that create a positive family and social environment around the mother-infant dyad resulting in improved behaviors including the use of services.