Oral

Who should assist women and newborns in childbirth? The current recommendation for skilled birth attendance in health facilities is far from reaching its goal. This session will address the reality in many regions of the world, where many women still deliver at home and often with traditional birth attendants. This session will address community level interventions efforts to reach MDGs 4 and 5. The papers will address maternal and newborn morbidity and mortality reduction efforts, including community administration of misoprostil and incentives for increasing prenatal care coverage. The session will allow time for a lively debate among the panelists and participants about the feasibility of the vision of skilled birth attendance for all deliveries as well as a discussion of innovative ways of addressing the shortage of these skilled health professionals in different regions of the world.

Session Objectives: 1)Identify barriers to the MDG 3 and 4 2)Analyze feasibility of innovative community level MNH interventions 3)Apply new approaches for MNH care in various country settings

CE Credits: CME, Health Education (CHES), Nursing