Maternal and newborn health

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Maternal and newborn health (MNH) is a cause for serious concern in developing countries. Rates of morbidity and mortality in pregnant women, mothers and newborns remain shockingly high, particularly among poorer groups. This section of the resource guide provides information on the status and determinants of MNH, why and where health systems are failing to tackle these problems and what actions are needed to improve the situation.

Increasing access to appropriately skilled and timely care is key to reducing the toll of maternal and neonatal deaths. Failures occur at household and community level, through poverty, gender bias and lack of awareness of the needs of pregnant women. They occur at service delivery level through lack of accessible, well functioning, staffed and resourced facilities, and at policy and systems level through poor planning, management and supervision, and lack of political commitment. Attention also needs to be given to cost effective ways of measuring and monitoring maternal mortality and morbidity.

The Millenium Development Goals on maternal health and child mortality have helped to concentrate efforts to improve MNH. International and national human rights and health advocacy is playing a major role. At programme level, efforts are being made through different kinds of finance and aid instruments to ensure MNH is given higher priority in health planning and resource allocation.