Sensitive Midwifery - Issue 44 - October 2019

Dimensions Horizons Working CLEVER could improve perinatal mortality A study conducted in 10 midwife-led obstetric units in Tshwane District, South Africa, claims to have solutions to improve maternal care. A so- called CLEVER health system improvements and perinatal outcomes intervention package was implemented and reviewed. CLEVER is the acronym for Clinical care, Labour ward management, Eliminate barriers, Verify care, Emergency obstetric simulation training, and Respectful care. The study showed that e ffi cient teamwork, leadership and team simulation training are regarded as essential interventions to improve perinatal mortality, and that clinical governance with formal feedback could result in adherence to high- quality obstetric care practices. Oosthuizen, SJ, et al, ‘Midwife-led obstetric units working CLEVER: improving perinatal outcome in SA’, S Afr Med J , 2019, 109(2):95–101 Poverty changes our genes A new study has found that poverty leaves a mark on almost 10% of the genes in the genome, challenging the idea that genes are fixed at conception. Lead author Thomas McDade noted that while we know that socioeconomic status is ‘a powerful determinant of health’, the ‘underlying mechanisms through which our bodies “remember” the experiences of poverty are not known’. More research is needed to determine the specific health consequences of poverty on our genes, but many of the genes identified in this study are connected to processes related to immune responses, as well as the development of the nervous system and skeleton. Northwestern University, ‘Poverty leaves a mark on our genes: Study's findings challenge understandings of genes as fixed features of our biology’, 4 April 2019. Available: www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190404135433.htm Can technology help midwives save lives in childbirth? That was the overarching theme of the first-of-its-kind EdTech Talk organised by Laerdal Global Health, the International Confederation of Midwives and the Maternity Foundation during the 2019 Women Deliver Conference in Vancouver in June 2019. Every day, more than 800 women and 7 000 newborns die of causes related to pregnancy and childbirth, while research shows that 80% of maternal deaths can be averted through access to quality midwifery care. Scaling up the skills and knowledge of health workers is a crucial step to help reach Sustainable Development Goal #3, which focuses on healthy lives and wellbeing for all. The 2019 Women Deliver Conference was told that new technological innovations o ff er unprecedented possibilities for reaching health workers across low- and middle-income countries with quality educational technology, widely known as EdTech. Sensitive Midwifery enthusiastically embraces EdTech, while keeping true to its conviction that quality, intuitive midwifery is the first-line defence against poor birth outcomes. 37 eSensitive Midwifery Magazine Issue 44