The need to reduce newborn mortality in low-resource settings is a global priority as noted by the World Health Organization’s Sustainable Developmental Goal 3.2. It is for that reason that back in 2010, a partnership formed among the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), WHO, USAID, Save the Children, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Laerdal Global Health, Latter-Day Saint Charities, and others to create “Helping Babies Breathe (HBB),” a neonatal resuscitation program to reduce newborn mortality in low income countries. How has HBB fared after ten years? Morris et al (10.1542/peds.2019-3938) address that question in a systematic review identifying such things as barriers to success, knowledge and skill gaps, successes in terms of provider behavior, cost-effectiveness, and clinical outcomes in terms of newborn survival. The authors found 94 articles met the search inclusion criteria whose summary take-home points are well organized in this review article.
Does this review describe all of the benefits of HBB? To answer that we invited Drs. Sara Berkelhamer, from the University of Buffalo and co-chair of the Helping Babies Survive Planning Group and Errol Alden, President of the International Pediatric Association to share their thoughts in an accompanying commentary (10.1542/peds.2020-012468). They note all the strengths this review reveals regarding the many positive attributes of HBB, agree that more studies on outcomes are needed, and share other attributes of HBB that this review did not cover. If you want to understand how significant the contributions of HBB have been over the past decade and how much more needs to be accomplished to lower infant mortality through this program and others, then please do not miss this review article and commentary. You’ll also want to learn more about the other components of the Helping Babies Survive project which includes “Essential Care for Every Baby” and “Essential Care for Small Babies” and continue to watch for studies noting the ongoing improvements in newborn outcomes in resource-limited settings.
