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Every Woman Every Newborn EverywherE
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Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response

©UNFPA/Rada Akbar.
Esther Okunia is a humanitarian midwife trained by UNFPA to support women and girls who are internally displaced in DRC due to conflict. Here she carries out a prenatal examination in July 2023.

Understanding why women and babies die

We must understand exactly why a woman died during or immediately after pregnancy and childbirth or why a infant died before it was born or in the first month of life –  to prevent other women and infants dying in the same way. The causes include medical causes of death and also the personal stories and underlying factors contributing to their deaths, such as delays in seeking and accessing care. Policy-makers and managers must know, understand  and factor in this broader picture to improve their health systems.

©UNFPA.

Telling women’s and newborn’s stories

This is where the maternal and perinatal death surveillance and response (MPDSR) system comes in – an approach to end preventable maternal and newborn mortality and stillbirths. It is designed to enable these tragic stories of why the death occurred to be told, to improve the quality of care provided to women and their infants, and to reduce the unacceptably high burden of maternal and neonatal mortality.

MPDSR is a surveillance and quality improvement system that supports the achievement of the Every Woman Every Newborn Everywhere coverage targets and contributes to achieving the SDG mortality targets.

– Source: Improving maternal and newborn health and survival and reducing stillbirth: progress report 2023. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2023

©UNFPA.
A midwife and pregnant woman in Bhutan in March 2023.

MPDSR: acting on the evidence

MPDSR involves a diverse range of stakeholders, including communities, health workers, professional associations, the Ministry of Health and partners to identify maternal or perinatal deaths, select cases to analyse, understand why, how and where the deaths occurred, and take action to prevent similar deaths occurring in the future.

Simultaneously, MPDSR monitors progress in implementing recommendations for change. It follows a cycle of notification, review, analysis and response for maternal deaths, stillbirths, and newborn deaths. It takes into account deaths in health facilities and in communities.

*Maternal Mortality Ratio, ** Perinatal Mortality Ratio

Source: Maternal and perinatal death surveillance and response: materials to support implementation.
Geneva: World Health Organization; 2021 (https://iris.who.int/handle/10665/348487).

MPDSR complements other national information systems, but the extent of integration of MPDSR with these existing systems varies from one country to another.

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Compendium on respectful maternal and newborn care

The compendium supports efforts to end mistreatment and achieve respectful maternal and newborn care. It is published by WHO together with UNFPA, UNICEF and the United Nations’ Special Programme on Human Reproduction (HRP), with support from Jhpiego and the MOMENTUM Country and Global Leadership programme. 

The purpose of the compendium is to consolidate key evidence, tools and resources to support the practical implementation of respectful maternal and newborn care across different contexts. It provides programme managers with essential background to build a foundational understanding of mistreatment and respectful care. As such, it serves as a comprehensive resource that integrates theory with practice.

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Maternal and Newborn Health Fund Annual Impact Report 2024

Since 2010, countries supported by the Maternal and Newborn Health Fund have reduced maternal mortality by 40%, nearly twice the global rate, contributing to avert an estimated 75,000 maternal deaths. The Maternal and Newborn Health Fund is UNFPA’s flagship initiative to expand equitable access to quality reproductive, maternal, and newborn healthcare.

The Fund’s Annual Impact Report 2024, released this month, details significant progress in reducing maternal and newborn mortality in 32 priority countries. In particular, the report highlights the impact of training and deploying midwives, enhancing emergency obstetric and newborn care, supporting national maternal and perinatal death surveillance and response systems and providing surgical fistula repair.

Download the report

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Programme manager’s handbook for maternal, child and adolescent health

The World Health Organization maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health e-handbook is a new resource for Ministry of health programme managers. It offers  step-by-step guidance for implementing effective health programmes, from planning to monitoring and evaluation, with concise overviews of key activities and interventions along the life course.  The e-handbook references WHO documents, to ensure that programme managers have access to evidence-based strategies and best practices tailored to various contexts.

This e-handbook contains a prioritised list of documents; for a full list of documents go to the resource library for maternal, newborn, child, adolescent health and ageing: https://uhcc.who.int/mca/

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Photo © 2020 WHO / Tatiana Almeida
Midwives during WHO Head of Sub-Office Dr Kai von Harbou visit to Hope Field Hospital

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