Boston University researchers hope to prove that a simple, inexpensive change in the way newborns are handled can help to reduce neo-natal death rates, and thanks to a new grant they will have that opportunity.
Boston University’s Center for Global Health and Development (CGHD) has received an $8.5 million, four-year grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support the large-scale trial in the African nation of Zambia.
“I’m so pleased to be able to announce this grant,” said Jonathon Simon, the CGHD’s founding director. “For all of the progress that’s been made worldwide in reducing deaths in children, there’s been much less progress for ‘neo-nates,’ meaning the first 28 days of life. We’re hoping to change that.”?
The CGHD group, which already has a strong presence in Zambia and often includes student research help, is setting out to prove that using an antiseptic wash called chlorhexidine to clean the umbilicus stump of newborns (the small piece of umbilical cord that remains for about a week after the cord is cut at birth) will improve baby survival rates.
In the southern province of Zambia where the study will be conducted, traditional ways of handling the umbilicus include everything from leaving it exposed to packing it with mustard oil, or even encasing it in cow dung.
BU anticipates more than 28,000 Zambians to take part in the study, thanks to he funding received via the grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Half of them will use the topical antiseptic daily, and half will care for their newborns in the more traditional ways. Simon said he hopes that comparing outcomes will create a powerful argument for health care providers around the world to change the way newborns are handled.
