Recommendations made to reduce neonatal mortality in developing countries

Maternal and newborn health researchers have suggested changes need to be made in developing countries if neonatal mortality rates are to be decreased.

A team led by Abdullah Baqui of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the US published a review of studies into newborn care-seeking in low and middle-income countries in the Public Library of Science journal Medicine.

They showed medical assistance for babies is generally sought less often in these nations than more developed ones, although there were many variations in the data.

In order to improve infant health, there must be a shift in the approach to providing help, the authors said.

"Changes are needed to both increase the demand for newborn care and strengthen healthcare systems, such as improving access and quality of care and socioeconomic inequality through education and literacy initiatives," they stated.

Direct Relief International, the Fistula Foundation and the United Nations Population Fund recently published a map showing where services are available for women with obstetric fistula across the world.