Manifesto for Maternal Health: Highlights From The Safe Motherhood Program and Midwives for Haiti
Continuing the celebration of the one-year anniversary of the “Manifesto for Maternal Health,” this post showcases the work of the University of California, San Francisco’s Safe Motherhood Program, and Midwives for Haiti to improve global maternal health.
The Safe Motherhood Program
The Safe Motherhood Program of the University of California, San Francisco has been working on many of the issues in the Manifesto, but major activities center on core area of number 11:
Our recent clinical trials documented the efficacy of the non-pneumatic anti-shock garment (NASG), low technology first-aid device and our implementation work has helped introduce NASGs to over 13 countries. NASGs are used at the community level and lowest level of the health care system, as well as in ambulances/referral transport. This has enabled women in hypovolemic shock in remote and/or rural areas to survive long delays in transport and in receiving quality comprehensive EmOC, reducing maternal mortality from obstetric hemorrhage.
Midwives for Haiti
Midwives for Haiti trains skilled birth attendants in Haiti and provides quality maternal health care to women in rural areas (number six in the Maternal Health Manifesto). Last year, their graduates performed over 60,000 prenatal care visits and attended over 12,000 births throughout Haiti. They will soon begin training their seventh class of students.
Please join the conversation! Tell us about your work to improve maternal health over the past year and how it relates to the calls to action from the manifesto. Send an email to Kate Mitchell or Natalie Ramm or join the dialogue on Twitter using the hashtag #MHmanifesto and help us celebrate the anniversary of the manifesto for maternal health!
Midwives for Haiti told us about their work using Facebook! You can do the same by sending us a message or comment.