An Afghan Success Story: Fewer Child Deaths

Child mortality rates are decreasing in Afghanistan due to more readily available basic health care, more effective vaccinations, and locally-trained volunteer health workers.

A strategy for stopping widespread depression in developing countries should be as obvious as one for combatting epidemics. A new strategy aims to downshift jobs to local workers to act as peer therapists.

India has, for years, been a hotbed of polio. Supported by the WHO as well as local health-care workers, immunizations have officially rid the country of the disease. There are still challenges in maintaining records and reaching everyone, but the message continously changes and adapts.

Expecting mothers, especially young ones, can often feel scared and unprepared about the pregnancy process. Maternity meeting groups help them gain more support and knowledge about their future pregnancies.

Child mortality rates in third-world countries are often shockingly high. But they are gradually decreasing due to efforts that target contagious diseases and more widespread health education.

A unique program at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center is combining prenatal care with psychiatric treatment for low-income women who might otherwise not seek help for mental health issues during pregnancy.

Science suggests that having a secure relationship with a caregiver can help protect a child’s brain and body from the effects of adversity. A Connecticut program for young children who have experienced trauma or other challenges has gotten results by focusing on that relationship – and the things that can interfere, including depression, family violence, and a parent’s own history of trauma.

A nutrient powder can save anemic children, but the people who could benefit are distrustful. Having local mothers distribute the supplement was successful in Bangladesh.

At St. John Hospital in Detroit, the principles of cultural sensitivity and collaboration—as well as lots of fundraising—have boosted previously low breastfeeding rates by black mothers.

A Buffalo, New York clinic provides a space for both abortions and natural births. In looking at the experiences as a continuum, rather than as juxtiposing sides, the hope is to change how people think about the birth experiences.