Journal of Women's Health Care
Open Access
ISSN: 2167-0420
ISSN: 2167-0420
Bupe Mwamba
University of Cape Town, South Africa
Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Womens Health Care
The study was conducted to increase the number of midwives who have up-to-date information on the physiology of fetal transition at birth and the impact on the incidence of maternal and neonatal anaemia. Prenatal interventions to decrease infant and maternal iron deficiency anaemia, including iron supplementation and nutritional plus programs addressing malaria prevention and treatment, are slowly becoming integrated into standards of practice. Research has shown that routine delayed clamping of the umbilical cord at birth can greatly reduce neonatal anaemia during the critical first months of a child�s life. However, despite strong evidence of the many benefits for the newborn of delayed cord clamping, at present there exists a lag in change of practice as many Zambian midwives continue to clamp the cord immediately. In part, this lag is due to previous education about active management of the third stage of labour and fears about HIV transmission. In fact, in a study performed in Zambia, 90% of providers reported that the best time to cut the cord was immediately after delivery or within one minute. Targeting midwifery education as a means to reducing neonatal anaemia through delayed cord clamping presents a realistic intervention that has potential for widespread positive effects. The above titled project is one of the 2015 Midwives for Life Award winning project by a committee which comprised of some members of the International Confederation of Midwives for funding by the Sanofi Espoir Foundation regarding delayed cord clamping.
Email: bpmumbi@yahoo.com