PREVENTIVE PEDIATRIC

(1) MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH CARE

Maternal and child health (MCH) care is the health service provided to mothers (women in their child bearing age) and children. The targets for MCH are all women in their reproductive age groups, i.e., 15 - 49 years of age, children, school age population and adolescents.

Objectives and Targets of WHO

1. To reduce maternal morbidity and mortality due to pregnancy and child birth

2. To reduce morbidity and mortality due to unsafe abortion

3. To reduce perinatal and neonatal morbidity and mortality

4. To promote reproductive health awareness for young children

5. To increase knowledge of reproductive biology and promote responsible behaviour of adolescents regarding contraception, safe sex and prevention of sexually transmitted infections.

6. To reduce the levels of unwanted pregnancies in all women of reproductive age.

7. To reduce the incidence and prevalence of sexually transmitted infections, in order to reduce the transmission of HIV infection.

8. To reduce the incidence and prevalence of cervical cancer

9. To reduce female genital mutilation and provide approparaite care for females who have already undergone genital mutilation

10. To reduce domestic and sexual violence and ensure proper mananagment of the victims.

Objectives of the MCH PROGRAM

General Obiective:

To improve maternal and child health services in

order to decrease maternal and childhood morbidity and mortality

Specific Objectives

• To provide primary health care services

• To extend integrated MCH services into the rural areas.

• To prevent malnutrition and infection among mothers and children through education in health and nutrition

• To promote the use of safe water, sanitation and immunisation

• To promote supply and promote effective FP programmes.

To provide services at a cost commensurate with the financial, material and manpower resources of the country.

• To initiate, develop and co-ordinate operational and other relevant research in MCH.

Strategies of the MCH Programme

• The health services at all levels, including the CHS shall carry out integrated services. Health education programmes are to be included.

• The health services shall be continually expanded

• The skills and knowledge of the health personnel shall be constantly improved.

A. Adequate emphasis on MCH shall be ensured in the curricula of health workers.

b. An adequate number of health workers for the various levels shall be trained.

C. Textbooks, manuals and other reference materials will be distributed to all health institutions.

d. Knowledge shall be continuously upheld through appropriate training and supervisory activities.

Revision and improvement of the referral system

• Co-ordinate with other organisations and institutions involved in

• To engage the participation of the agricultural extension workers and the Ethiopian Nutrition Institute in the promotion of the production and utilisation of supplementary feeding mixes.

• Promote community participation and involvement as an essential component of the MCH Programme.

• Seek resources for the expansion of services from the government and

• Manpower training and research should be carried out whenever necessary and feasible. Regions should develop their respective in service training capability and implement a training programme to develop and upgrade the skill and knowledge of the health workers.

(2) REPRODUTIVE AND CHILD HEALTH

What is RCH?

The abbreviation RCH stands for Reproductive and Child Health. It is a programme that was initiated in October 1997 with the goal of battling and lowering maternal, newborn, and child mortality rates. It was formulated as per the recommendation of the International Conference on Population and Development held in Cario in 1994. The International Conference on Population and Development held in Cairo gave RCH programme definition as “A state of complete, physical, mental, and social well-being and merely the absence of disease or infirmity in all matters relating to the reproductive system and its function and process”.

Objectives of Reproductive And Child Health Programme

The main objectives of RCH are mentioned below.

• To improve the health of women and children to guarantee safe maternity and child survival, with the intermediate goal of lowering IMR and MMR.

• Population stability is the ultimate goal, which may be achieved by appropriate reproductive behaviour.

• To improve policy administration and oversight by using a participatory design method that empowers organisations to make the best use of project resources.

• To improve the present Family wellness services' quality, coverage, and effectiveness.

• To gradually broaden the scope and coverage of services related to family welfare in order to provide a comprehensive package of RCH help.

• To improve the quality and infrastructure of FW services, preferential treatment should be given to rural parts of cities or districts.

• Increase the range and substance of existing family welfare (FW) wellness programmes in order to accommodate new components.

Since we have understood what is RCH and what RCH stands for let us look into the following main concepts that were introduced in the RCH programme,

• Unwanted pregnancy prevention and management

•  Maternal care (safe motherhood) 

• Child survival 

• STD prevention and management

•  HIV AIDS prevention

(3) BABY FRIENDLY HOSPITAL INITIATIVE

(BFHI)

Introduction

• The Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) was launched in 1991by UNICEF and the World Health Organization, it has served as a motivating force for maternity facilities around the world to implement policies and practices that support breastfeeding.

• The Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) seeks to provide mothers and babies with a good start for breastfeeding, increasing the likelihood that babies will be breastfed exclusively for the first six months and then given appropriate complementary foods while breastfeeding continues for two years or beyond.

Goals of the Baby-friendly Hospital

Initiative

1. To transform hospitals and maternity facilities through implementation of the "Ten steps"

2. To end the practice of distribution of free and low cost supplies of breast-milk substitutes to maternity wards and hospitals.

Ten steps to successful breastfeeding

1. Have a written breastfeeding policy that is routinely communicated to all health care staff.

2. Train all health care staff in skills necessary to implement this policy.

3. Inform all pregnant women about the benefits and management of breastfeeding.

4. Help mothers initiate breastfeeding within a half-hour of birth.

5. Show mothers how to breastfeed, and how to maintain lactation even if they should be separated from their infants.

6. Give newborn infants no food or drink other than breast milk, unless medically indicated.

7. Practise rooming-in - allow mothers and infants to remain together - 24 hours a day.

8. Encourage breastfeeding on demand.

9. Give no artificial teats or pacifiers (also called dummies or soothers) to breastfeeding infants.

10. Foster the establishment of breastfeeding support groups and refer mothers to them on discharge from the hospital or clinic.

• At the end of teaching this can be concluded that almost all mothers can breastfeed successfully, which includes initiating breastfeeding within the first hour of life, breastfeeding exclusively for the first 6 months and continuing breastfeeding (along with giving appropriate complementary foods) up to 2 years of age or beyond.