Policy Brief: Are Newborn Care Practices Done Properly within the First Hour of Life? A Survey on 51 of the Largest Hospitals in the Philippines

The Philippines is one of 42 countries accounting for 90 percent of all global deaths in children under 5 years of age with 82,000 Filipinos die before reaching their 5th birthday. There are also over 40,000 newborns who die annually. And if newborn mortality is not reduced by half, the goal of reducing childhood mortality by two thirds, which is part of the Millennium Development Goals, will not be met.

In a study of consecutive deliveries in 51 of the largest hospitals in 9 regions in the Philippines, an assessment tool developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a standard in Newborn Care which included the evidence-based intervention, was used to evaluate the performance, timing of procedures and attendant capabilities in immediate newborn care.

The Intrapartum/Newborn Practices assessment tools were developed through a collaboration between the Philippine General Hospital and World Health Organization (WHO) with Department of Health (DOH) inputs. In this cross – sectional study in 2009 using a brief questionnaire and annual reports such as hospital births, deaths and sepsis cases, approximately 10 babies were consecutively included from each of the randomly selected 51 hospitals.