An article published last week in The Economist, entitled “How to save the lives of 200 000 women a year”, references work done by CRIBS and APECi to prevent maternal deaths, utilising simple measures and devices such as the Cradle Device.
The article describes how lives can be saved by detecting the warning signs early and describes the Sierra Leone Cradle trials which utilises the cradle blood-pressure device, whose simple traffic-light system alerts clinicians that if it flashes red, a patient should be referred for emergency treatment. Mariama Momoh, a midwife and public-health specialist who works in Sierra Leone, describes how it lets workers with even basic training make fast decisions.”
The article quotes Mangenda Kamara of Lifeline Nehemiah Projects, who describes how in Sierra Leone, unwed pregnant teenagers are often thrown out by their families and are afraid to visit clinics. The article describes how Magenda is pioneering a scheme that pairs girls with an older mentor, who encourages them to go for antenatal check-ups and goes with them to hospital during labour. It highlights how more than 250 girls have been mentored; none (in that small sample) has died.
To read the full article, click here.