How MedGlobal is Helping Babies Breathe in Banglad

Did you know that 1 in 10 newborns needs help breathing after birth? About one million babies die each year from birth asphyxia, the inability to breathe, mainly in low-resource locations [1]. MedGlobal, in partnership with UNFPA, will be providing training to local medical professionals in Bangladesh on Helping Babies Breathe.

Helping Babies Breathe is an internationally recognized program aimed at reducing infant mortality by providing life-saving measures within the first minute of birth – the “Golden Minute.”  The program helps birth attendants develop knowledge and skills that are utilized within the first few minutes of life, including identification of a baby in danger and administration of life-saving measures. Part of the training includes teaching participants to become Helping Babies Breathe trainers.

MedGlobal is sending six master trainers to educate medical professionals from facilities in and around the Rohingya refugee camp in Cox Bazar, Bangladesh. Since October 2017, MedGlobal has had a sustainable presence in the refugee camp through the provision of medical services within the camp.

MedGlobal volunteers will be training 36 medical professionals to become instructors for Helping Babies Breathe. The 36 new instructors, in collaboration with MedGlobal volunteers, will teach another 36 medical professionals per day, for 8 days, with a goal of reaching 288 birth attendants.

[1] No cry at birth: global estimates of intrapartum stillbirths and intrapartum-related neonatal deaths. WHO, 2005.