For parents, the day of birth is one of the most joyous occasions. But it can also be one of the most dangerous for a mother and her baby. More than 70% of maternal and neonatal deaths happen around the time of labor and delivery. Tragedy can strike without warning from complications like postpartum hemorrhage and newborn asphyxia.

Without properly equipped facilities and trained, well-supported health workers, these emergencies too often become fatal. This is a reality that, despite hard-won progress in recent years, is reflected in the persistently high maternal and newborn mortality rates in many countries, including in Tanzania.

A new approach

To address this crisis, a coalition of organizations including the Global Financing Facility (GFF), a partnership hosted at the World Bank, developed a low-cost, evidence-based program around a simple idea: equipping frontline workers with the tools, skills and confidence they need to act quickly and effectively on the day of birth.

The innovative program, the Safer Births Bundle of Care (SBBC), provides improved clinical tools and a strong focus on regular, on-site, simulation-based trainings designed to strengthen health workers’ response to emergencies during labor, birth and the critical hours that follow. The program includes health care workers learning to manage postpartum hemorrhage with their hands and to perfect high-quality neonatal resuscitation for babies born not breathing.

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