Hanoi, Vietnam – Worldwide, about 4 million babies die in their first month of life – about half of those in the first 24 hours, a global report on newborn mortality says.
Simple measures such as knit caps to keep babies warm could help save many, according to the report released Monday by U.S.-based Save the Children.
Expectant mothers also fare poorly in undeveloped countries, with half a million women dying annually from complications during pregnancy or birth often because they have no care before, while or after their babies are born, the report said. A huge number of women give birth at home alone or with no skilled attendant.
“In most of the developing world, childbirth is a dance with death for both mother and baby, even though 70 percent of those deaths could be prevented,” said co-author Anne Tinker, director of the organization’s Saving Newborn Lives Initiative. “The secret is really knowledge.”
The 50-page report released ahead of Mother’s Day compiles data from the world’s nations as well as the World Health Organization and UNICEF. It presents a bleak look at the challenges pregnant women and newborns face in impoverished countries – where up to 99 percent of deaths occur, illustrating the gap between rich and poor nations.
For instance, 1 in every 5 women in sub-Saharan Africa has lost a baby in the first month of life, along with 1 in every 7 women in South Asia.
Out of 78 low- and middle-income countries examined, Liberia had the highest newborn-mortality rate with 65 out of 1,000 babies dying in a country where forced teen marriages are common and many women die during pregnancy or delivery.
Liberia was closely followed by Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, Iraq, Pakistan and Ivory Coast – countries known for conflict and violence against women.
The Save the Children report acknowledges the challenges of cultural and traditional practices. In some countries, there are rituals such as using cow dung on umbilical cords or bathing newborns and letting them dry in the cold.
The report highlights the need for better education and nutrition among expectant mothers, along with the importance of breast-feeding.
In the industrialized world, Japan had the lowest newborn mortality rate of 1.8 per 1,000, followed by the Czech Republic, Finland, Iceland and Norway.
The U.S. had one of the highest rates – 5 in 1,000 – in the developed world. It tied with Hungary, Malta, Poland and Slovakia and was largely due to deaths among minorities and poor, rural, uneducated women.
