Intro to Global Health
Case Study: Infant Mortality
Each year approximately 10 million babies do not breathe immediately at birth, of which about 6 million require basic neonatal resuscitation. The major burden is in low-income settings, where health system capacity to provide neonatal resuscitation is inadequate. Many of these babies die because their birth attendant or caregiver did not know a simple technique called neonatal resuscitation. Neonatal resuscitation is important because it is a technique that can and will save a baby’s life. Birth asphyxia is one of the leading causes of infant mortality, cerebral palsy and mental disabilities worldwide. In this case, we were asked to look at the China Neonatal Resuscitation Program. Why is this program important and why was China the country in the most need to have the program implemented?
The program is important because more than twenty percent of chinese children die from birth asphyxia. In China 17 million children are born every year. And The idea that children have to die because a nurse is not trained to resuscitate the child is sad. We, as americans are used to the big medical centers and if something happen we know that our child will be in good hands. The Key players in bringing rescuscitation to china was the American Academy of pediatrics.
The program was first introduced in 1987 and it failed. I guess at the time there was not enough funding and of course when something new is introduced in the medical world, doctors or administrators are not quick to accept new techniques.
I think of all that children that lost their lives because doctors and nurses were not trained to administer CPR or mechanical ventilation.
The Chinese Society of Perinatal Medicine provided obstetricians and neonatologst. The Chinese Nursing Association provided nurses professional education and training in resuscitation. They also included midwives in the training because midwives do not
References: www.aap.org www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov www.jnj.com/giving-breath-to-life www.unicef.org/rosa/newborn