Beyond newborn resuscitation: Essential care for every baby and small babies

Abstract

Helping Babies Breathe (HBB) addresses a major cause of newborn mortality by teaching basic steps of neonatal resuscitation and improving survival rates of infants affected by intrapartum-related events or asphyxia. Addressing the additional top causes of mortality (infection and prematurity) requires more comprehensive education, including content on thermal and nutritional support, breastfeeding, and alternative feeding strategies, as well as recognition and treatment of infection. Essential Care for Every Baby (ECEB) and Essential Care for Small Babies (ECSB) use educational principles developed with HBB as a model for teaching basic newborn care. These programs complement the content provided with HBB, further integrate counseling of families, and advance the agenda of providing quality care to all infants at birth. ECEB and ECSB have further demonstrated that engagement of individuals through active participation in their education empowers providers at all levels. With added experience teaching and implementing ECEB and ECSB, the next generation of newborn educational programs will likely incorporate bedside teaching and clinical exposure, multimedia platforms for demonstrating clinical content, and added efforts toward quality improvement. Through ECEB and ECSB, the attention brought to the newborn health agenda with HBB has only grown. Although current global health issues pose new challenges in implementing this agenda, these programs together provide a critical framework to both educate and advocate for optimal care of every newborn.