Around the world, women and newborn babies continue to be exposed to significant risks when receiving unsafe care during childbirth.
Maternal and newborn mortality still remains unacceptably high, and the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has further compounded the situation. Globally, approximately 810 women die every day from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. In addition, around 6700 newborns die every day and about 2 million babies are stillborn every year, with over 40% of stillbirths occurring during labour. In the Western Pacific Region, an estimated 356 newborns died every day in 2019.
Most of these deaths could be avoided through the provision of safe and quality care by skilled health professionals working in supportive environments. This can only be achieved by engaging all stakeholders involved and adopting comprehensive health systems and community-based approaches.
Dr Takeshi Kasai, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific, said, “While it is true that there is no such thing as zero risk or zero human error, we must work towards reducing risk where possible and mitigating the impact of errors when they occur. This is especially important in light of COVID-19, which has challenged our health systems and disrupted health services in unprecedented ways.”
“Every mother and baby have a right to a positive and safe birthing experience. This is why we are calling for urgent and sustainable action by all stakeholders to work together to increase patient safety and thereby improving maternal and newborn care, and through this, working to achieve universal health coverage,” he added.
Improving the quality of care through skin-to-skin contact
The lives of many newborns could be saved if simple, cost-effective measures are taken during and immediately after birth. An example is the “First Embrace”, a series of simple yet vital steps that maximize a newborn baby’s skin-to-skin contact with their mother after delivery to keep the baby warm, calm and healthy, and protect them from distress and infections. Skin-to-skin contact and other interventions to improve the quality of care during and immediately after birth – and to save lives – are outlined in the Region’s Early Essential Newborn Care clinical practice pocket guide.
For Candice Alcayde, from the Philippines, who gave birth during the COVID-19 pandemic, skin-to-skin contact was very important.
After Candice Alcayde’s baby was delivered with a Caesarean section, he was immediately dried thoroughly per EENC clinical protocol, then put in skin-to-skin contact with Candice. WHO/G. Borrero
“After undergoing a stressful caesarean section, the skin-to-skin contact helped me and my baby relax and calm down. When he was laid on my chest, he immediately stopped crying and was able to find his way to breastfeed.”
"Giving birth during the coronavirus pandemic is an added worry and stress for expectant mothers,” says Ms Alcayde.
“I was able to experience 90 minutes of skin-to-skin contact with my baby. Having a doctor who supported skin-to-skin contact, especially at this time, made all the difference.”
Read more about her experience and a WHO study showing the factors that help newborns breastfeed successfully.
For premature or low birthweight babies, skin-to-skin contact and exclusive breastfeeding – also known as
kangaroo mother care - has been shown to significantly improve chances of survival.
Jianying Wang, the chief delivery room nurse at the Northwest Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Xi'an city, China, has observed the effects of skin-to-skin contact for several years.
“Since 2016, our hospital has been practising at least 90 minutes of uninterrupted skin-to-skin contact in the delivery and postnatal rooms. The impact is clear when it comes to initiating breastfeeding: now roughly 90% of full-term babies are able to breastfeed exclusively,” she said.
The WHO Western Pacific Region continues to work with Member States and partners to support mothers and babies by improving their access to facility-based care and the safety and quality of skilled delivery and post-delivery care.
