Early Essential Newborn Care

Approximately every two minutes a baby dies in the WHO Western Pacific Region. The majority of newborn deaths occur within the first few days, mostly from preventable causes. The high mortality and morbidity rates among newborns are related to inappropriate hospital and community practices that currently occur throughout the Region. Furthermore, newborn care has fallen into a gap between maternal care and child care.

This Guide provides health professionals with a user-friendly, evidence-based protocol to essential newborn care--focusing on the first hours and days of life.

The target users are skilled birth attendants including midwives, nurses and doctors, as well as others involved in caring for newborns. This pocket book provides a step-by-step guide to a core package of essential newborn care interventions that can be administered in all health-care settings. It also includes stabilization and referral of sick and preterm newborn infants. Intensive care of newborns is outside the scope of this pocket guide.

This clinical practice guide is organized chronologically. It guides health workers through the standard precautions for essential newborn care practices, beginning at the intrapartum period with the process of preparing the delivery area, and emphasizing care practices in the first hours and days of a newborn's life. Each section has a color tab for easy reference.