Helping Babies Breathe

I’ve spent much of this week going to the health centers with Innocent, a nurse who does emergency medical dispatching at the upper level health center and who is retraining staff in a protocol for newborn resuscitation called Helping Babies Breathe (HBB). My task is to support and coach Innocent. HBB was developed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, WHO, and others for use in low-resource areas. The goal of the protocol is to help those babies, whether they are misclassified as stillbirths or are recognized as having a heartbeat, who do not breathe spontaneously immediately after birth. Innocent and I have been making sure each of our six health centers has the appropriate, functional equipment (clock, suction bulb, newborn ventilation bag and mask)- which has been a formidable and not quite completed task- and are now making sure that all staff (most especially midwifes) are trained in the protocol and pass the written test, skills check, and simulation. The photos are of the very cool NeoNatalie doll, Innocent, one of the midwives practicing, and one of our health center groups.