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  • Title: Appropriate technologies for mother and child health care in developing countries.
    Author: Vani SN.
    Journal: Indian Pediatr; 1989 Nov; 26(11):1124-30. PubMed ID: 2630473.
    Abstract:
    Perinatal (PNMR) and neonatal (NMR) mortality rates are very high in India amounting to 40%-60% of infant mortality rates (IMR). Perinatal and antenatal care aids include pictorial cards for registering pregnancy for the use of illiterate traditional birth assistants (TBAs), adult weighing scales for mothers with red (40 kg), yellow (40-45 kg), and green (45 kg) relating to pregnancy weight. Tricolored mid arm strips can be useful to assess the degree of undernutrition in pregnant women. short women can be measured with the help of sticks painted red up to 140 cm and white above 140 cm. Educated workers can be trained to measure fundal height and abdominal girth. Graphs for weight gain patterns during pregnancy and teaching slides to train the community workers to detect high risk mothers have been developed. Pregnant women are supplied with a simple sterile cord care kit containing a half blade, 2 threads, and gauze pieces as well as with an illustrated list of articles to be kept ready in case of home delivery. Some birth attendants have been trained in proper detection and counting of fetal heart rate. Care during delivery is facilitated by pictorial cards for labor monitoring, delivery kits for trained birth attendants, safe cord care kits, resuscitation kits containing presterilized mucus aspirators, and birth record cards. Low birth weight and pre-term babies can be identified by portable weighing scales and by examination of certain physical features. The goals of care during infancy are to promote overall child health including physical, mental and social well-being. Health charts register weights taken at regular monthly intervals and details of feeding, weaning and diet. These child health records also serve the detection of malnutrition and undernutrition. Other techniques include pictorial symbols for different grades of respiratory distress, immunization record cards, proper sterilization of syringes and needles, the popularization of the symbol for Mother and Child Health (MCH) Care Services. The goal of "Health for All by 2000 A.D." can be achieved by improving the status of women through education, by proper utilization of mass media, and by allocating additional resources, rather than by imitating Western patterns.
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