DFID unveiled this week a new focus on reproductive, maternal and newborn health by opening a public consultation to help gather views and opinions from across the world and inform the forthcoming business plan.

DFID has worked hard with the UN and its member countries to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), but progress against MDGs 4 and 5 (Maternal Health and Child Health) has not been as good as in other areas. This consultation is the clearest sign yet of DFID’s commitment to ensure that every pregnancy is wanted, and every birth is safe, through better access to quality reproductive, maternal and newborn health services both before and after the birth.

Existing DFID funded research in this area could play a significant role in shaping future policy, and it is important that we are aware of what the evidence says.

Towards 4+5, the DFID funded research programme, aims to improve maternal and infant survival in poor countries, by integrating evidence, generating new knowledge in key areas, and communicating research findings effectively. Projects are currently underway in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Nepal, Malawi and Bangladesh.

Three recent examples from Malawi, Nepal and Ghana highlight the good work been undertaken by Towards 4+5. In Malawi, research has sought to improve the lives of mothers and infants through community based health promotion. This is of desperate importance to a country with one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world (807 deaths per 100,000 live births).

The project, called MaiMwana, broadcasts a radio programme made up of interviews with community members who share real life experiences on maternal and child health problems. The aim is to educate listeners and encourage them to seek medical care if they recognise the problems been discussed. It is this kind of initiative which can play an important role in empowering women on health issues.

In Nepal, another project has been responsible for training female community health volunteers to manage neonatal sepsis. 207 volunteers have been trained by Mother and Infant Research Activities (MIRA) in a large community based trial. These volunteers have begun to play an important role in saving newborn lives. They have been particularly successful at identifying pneumonia – a major cause of death for newborn babies in Nepal – and treating it. This project could have a major impact on future health policy, especially relating to the role of volunteers.

The final example comes from Ghana where half of all births occur at home, and these home deliveries account for a large proportion of all neonatal deaths. In a similar vain to the project in Nepal, researchers are exploring whether community volunteers could provide the home-based care to pregnant women and newborns. This clearly has the potential to drastically improve neonatal survival.

The project is called the Newborn Home Intervention Study (Newhints) and seeks to train current network community based surveillance volunteers (CBSVs) to identify pregnant women in the community and conduct two home visits during pregnancy and three in the first week of the baby’s life. Volunteers are taught to advise women on neonatal care practices such as preparing for delivery, using bed-nets, advising on clean delivery techniques and early breast feeding, and to asses and refer sick babies.

There is a long way to go in improving reproductive, maternal and newborn health as part of the MDGs, but there is a clear commitment from the DFID to push forward. As we seek solutions to the ongoing challenges faced in this area we should not overlook existing thinking. This new consultation offers an opportunity to build new policies based on firm evidence.

R4D has 375 research outputs relating to Maternal Health and around 300 research outputs on  Child Health. You can also subscribe to  regular news feeds on these issues.