Maternal Health Task Force
The Maternal Health Task Force strives to create a strong, well-informed and collaborative community of individuals focused on ending preventable maternal mortality and morbidity worldwide.
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Blog
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Making People-Centered Health Services a Reality in Zambia
Like many countries, Zambia struggled for years to improve skilled birth attendance; Recently, however, some rural districts have performed much better. Zambia has moved to make people-centered health services a reality by using maternal health as an entry point for creating a more responsive health system…read more
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“If You Are Alive Today, Thank a Midwife”: How Mobile Phones Can Increase Skilled Birth Attendance
Without proper training and practice, midwives cannot provide high quality maternal and newborn care. Maternity Foundation’s Safe Delivery App aims to enhance midwives’ skills and knowledge in order to improve the quality of care women receive. The Safe Delivery App is a mobile health training tool that provides midwives working in remote, low-resource settings with access to evidence-based clinical guidelines and animated instructions, helping them to prevent and manage obstetric emergencies…read more
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Breastfeeding as Family Teamwork
Research has shown that women who have support from their family, partner and broader social network are more likely to initiate and continue breastfeeding. Nevertheless, health care providers do not always engage with families very effectively. Studies in diverse global settings have demonstrated the benefit of engaging partners and families on breastfeeding practices…read more
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The Lancet Maternal Health Series: Key Takeaways
The Lancet Maternal Health Series published in September 2016 contains six papers highlighting the importance of improving access to high quality maternal health care for all women across the globe. The series also includes three commentaries from experts in the field that summarize some of the key takeaways…read more
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Year in Review: Top 10 Highlights in Global Maternal Health From 2016
2016 was an exciting year for the global maternal health community. In reflecting back on this past year, the Maternal Health Task Force compiled a list of our top 10 highlights…read more
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Systematic Reviews of Financing Mechanisms for Family Planning
While substantial progress has been made over the last few decades in family planning access and utilization, additional efforts are needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal target of ensuring “universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights.” Studies in Family Planning recently published a series of open access systematic reviews assessing these different financing mechanisms for family planning in low- and middle-income countries…read more
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The Role of Measurement in Tracking Progress When Scaling Up Maternal Health Interventions
As attention in maternal health shifts to a new emphasis on ending preventable maternal mortality (EPMM) and addressing inequities, the tracking of progress will remain important. A key aspect of these future efforts will require the valid measurement of not only contact with maternal and newborn health services but also coverage of key interventions that reflect the quality of services received…read more
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Closing the Gaps of Maternal Health in Conflict and Crises
Last week, experts in maternal and reproductive health gathered at the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C. to discuss the latest data on maternal health in conflict and crises, identify policy and funding gaps and explore how to address maternal health in these hard-to-reach areas. The dialogue, Closing the Gaps of Maternal Health in Conflict and Crises, was part of the Maternal Health Task Force’s Advancing Policy Dialogue on Maternal Health Series in partnership with the United Nations Populations Fund (UNFPA) and the Wilson Center. The panelists offered a range of perspectives and recommended key actions to improve maternal health in humanitarian settings…read more
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Exploring Maternal and Child Health Among Sex Workers and Their Children
Last week, the Women and Health Initiative at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health welcomed Saki Onda to speak about a vulnerable, understudied population: female sex workers (FSWs) and their children. The issue of maternal mortality and morbidity among FSWs has been widely neglected in the public health literature. Given the vulnerability of FSWs and their children, increased global efforts to understand and address their sexual, reproductive and maternal health needs are critical…read more
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Implementing Checklists for Quality Improvement: Webinar on December 15!
Join the Ariadne Labs team on December 15 for ‘Implementing Checklists for Quality Improvement: Best Practices Along the Implementation Pathway – “Coaching,”‘ the fourth webinar in their interactive webinar series dedicated to sharing lessons learned in checklist implementation for quality improvement…read more
