Abstract:
Aim: In Ghana, institutional delivery has been emphasized to improve maternal and newborn outcomes. The
Making Every Baby Count Initiative, a large coordinated training effort, aimed to improve newborn outcomes
through government engagement and provider training across four regions of Ghana. Two newborn resuscitation
training and evaluation approaches are described for front line newborn care providers at five regional hospitals.
Methods: A modified newborn resuscitation program was taught at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital (GARH)
and evaluated with real-time resuscitation observations. A programmatic shift, led to a different approach being
utilized in Sunyani, Koforidua, Ho and Kumasi South Regional Hospitals. This included Helping Babies Breathe
(HBB) and Essential Care for Every Baby (ECEB) training followed by objective structured clinical examinations
(OSCE) with manikins at fixed intervals. Data was collected on training outcomes, fresh stillbirth and institutional
newborn mortality rates.
Results: Training was conducted for 412 newborn care providers. For 120 staff trained at GARH, resuscitation
observations and chart review found improvements in conducting positive pressure ventilation. For 292 providers
that received HBB and ECEB training, OSCE pass rates exceeded 90%, but follow-up decreased from 98% to 84%
over time. A decrease in fresh stillbirth and institutional newborn mortality occurred at GARH (p < 0.05), but not
in the other four regional hospitals.
Conclusion: Newborn resuscitation training is warranted in low-resource settings; however, the optimal training,
monitoring and evaluation approach remains unclear, particularly in referral hospitals. Although, mortality re-
ductions were observed at GARH, this cannot be solely attributed to newborn resuscitation training.
