This Field Guide is a companion to the Inter-agency Field Manual on Sexual and Reproductive Health in Humanitarian Settings 2018 (IAFM), and provides information related specifically to newborn care during the neonatal period (days 0-28). The interim Field Guide was originally published in 2015. After field-testing in two humanitarian contexts (South Sudan and Somalia) and soliciting extensive feedback from practitioners, it was revised and published in January 2018.
The Field Guide has been designed as an enhancement to national strategies and programs aimed at improving the lives of newborns and their mothers, and to strategies such as the Every Newborn Action Plan (ENAP). We encourage its use in advocacy and strengthening efforts of existing country programs for newborn care, regardless of whether such programs were developed in response to humanitarian crises or as permanent systems during times of stability. The Field Guide can also be used for the development of the neonatal component of national emergency preparedness and response plans. The ultimate aim is to improve the survival and wellbeing of newborns in humanitarian settings. An Implementation Toolkit has also been developed in 2018 which includes practical resources, guidance and job aids to support the application of the Field Guide. The resources section of this NBFG website also includes many resources, guidance and training tools for additional information and reference for the readers.
We welcome your feedback on the use of this resource in the field and ways to improve it. Please send comments and questions to info@iawg.net.
How to Use this Guide
This digital version of the NBFG brings together all the essential guidance and tools that readers might find useful in designing, managing, monitoring and evaluating newborn health services within humanitarian settings. The digital NBFG has thus been designed as a resource that is easy to use in the field and accessible from all devices and with limited internet connectivity.
Throughout the Field Guide, the following functionalities have been used for the readers benefit:
Within the Field Guide Chapters
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Boxes included throughout the text contain key details about important topics, downloadable check lists, examples, good practices and supporting facts. Boxes can be expanded and collapsed by the reader based on their preference as they’re browsing the sections. Some boxes have been designed as quick reference sheets (e.g., newborn danger signs) that can be downloaded by the reader on their device for use. These boxes are identifiable with the following button, which can be found at the end of the box:Download -
The bookmark icon can be used to bookmark any section that readers would like to come back to at a later stage. -
The info icon has been used throughout the text to provide useful information about certain topics/terms and direct users to resources where additional information can be found. -
The a icon has been used throughout the text to denote an abbreviation. Click on the icon to see what the abbreviation stands for. -
Figures display visual information to illustrate important facts about topics. -
Footnotes display visual information to illustrate important facts about topics.
As part of the Website
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The Chapters icon appears at the top right of the screen as a user opens any of the Field Guide chapters and/or sections. This icon can be used at any point to move from one section to another in a click. -
The search function can be used to find all the sub-sections of the Field Guide a topic has been mentioned in. Please note, as the search functionality is powered by Google and is free, advertisement posts from Google will be displayed at the top of the search results and can be ignored. -
Offline access: As stakeholders in the field might not always have access to the internet, the digital NBFG (excluding interactive features and figures) is automatically downloaded on any device it is accessed and can thereafter be accessed even without internet connectivity.
Should a reader wish to print the NBFG in its entirety or a specific section, please use the print function (Ctrl + P on most devices) of your web-browser.
If you encounter any technical difficulties while using this website, please contact info@iawg.net.
Acknowledgements
Save the Children and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) led the development of the Newborn Health in Humanitarian Settings: Field Guide (NBFG) with many thanks to Heather Papowitz and Ribka Amsalu. The Field Guide was written by Judith Robb-McCord and Rachael Sacks, and technical inputs were provided by included representatives from Columbia University, The ELMA Relief Foundation, International Medical Corps (IMC), International Rescue Committee (IRC), Jhpiego, Johns Hopkins University (JHU), London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), SickKids Centre for Global Health, Stanford University, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), University of Alberta, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Women’s Refugee Commission (WRC), World Health Organization (WHO) and World Vision International.
The NBFG was revised in 2018, led by Sarah Chynoweth. Technical reviewers included (in alphabetical order): Samira Aboubaker (WHO), Ribka Amsalu (Save the Children), Neelam Bhardwaj (UNFPA), Laura Cremonini (Save the Children), Siobhan Crowley (ELMA Philanthropies), Bernadette Daelmans (WHO), Joseph de Graft Johnson (Save the Children), Wilma Doedens (UNFPA), Michelle Gaffey (SickKids Centre for Global Health), Megan Gallagher (Save the Children), Endang Handzel (CDC), Jesse Hartness (Save the Children), Tedbabe Hailegebriel (UNICEF), Michelle Hynes (CDC), Preetha Iyengar (Save the Children), Debra Jackson (UNICEF), Kate Kerber (University of Alberta), Loulou Kobeissi (WHO), Sandra Krause (WRC), Smita Kumar (USAID), Ornella Lincetto (WHO), Janet Meyers (IMC), Rachel Moresky (Columbia), Diane Morof (CDC), Katie Morris (Save the Children), Sarah Moxon (LSHTM), Jolene Nakao (OFDA), Heather Papowitz. (UNICEF), Luwei Pearson (UNICEF), Nicolas Peyraud (MSF), Paul Robinson (IMC), Severin Ritter Von Xylander (WHO), Samira Sami (JHU), Marian Schilperoord, Elaine Scudder (Save the Children), Hannah Tappis (JHU), Lisa Thomas (WHO), Basia Tomczyk (CDC), Maria Tsolka (Save the Children), Stephen Wall (Save the Children), Paul Wise (Stanford), Bina Valsangkar (Save the Children), Josep Vargas (UNHCR), Nabila Zaka (UNICEF), and Will Zeck (UNICEF).
When the NBFG was adapted into this digital version in 2022, a light touch revision was undertaken to reflect recent evidence and guidelines. The development and revision process was led by Mehr Gul Shah, under the auspices of the IAWG MNH sub-working group. Technical reviewers included (in alphabetical order): Andrea Edman (IAWG), Teshome Desta (WHO), Fatima Gohar (UNICEF), Leah Greenspan (USAID), Endang Handzel (CDC), Lily Kak (USAID), Janet Meyers (Save the Children), Alemnesh Reta (Laerdal Global Health), Elaine Scudder (IAWG/IRC), Hannah Tappis (Jhpiego and Johns Hopkins University), Anna af Ugglas (Laerdal Global Health). The website was developed by Scope Impact.
The views and opinions expressed in this resource are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of their respective organizations.
Abbreviations
- ACS
- Antenatal corticosteroids
- ANC
- Antenatal Care
- ART
- Antiretroviral Therapy
- BCC
- Behavior Change Communication
- BCG
- Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (vaccine for tuberculosis)
- BEmONC
- Basic Emergency Obstetric Care
- CAR
- Central African Republic
- CDC
- U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention
- CEmONC
- Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric Care
- CHW
- Community Health Worker
- CHX
- Chlorhexidine
- CPAP
- Continuous Positive Airway Pressure
- CSF
- Cerebral Spinal Fluid
- DRC
- The Democratic Republic of the Congo
- ENAP
- Every Newborn Action Plan
- ENC
- Essential Newborn Care
- GBS
- Group B Streptococci
- GHC
- Global Health Cluster
- HFA
- Health Facility Assessment
- HIV
- Human Immunodeficiency Virus
- IAFM
- Inter-Agency Field Manual on Sexual and Reproductive Health in Humanitarian Settings
- IARH
- Inter-agency Reproductive Health (kits)
- IAWG
- Inter-agency Working Group on Reproductive Health in Crises
- ICCM
- Integrated Community Case Management
- IDP
- Internally Displaced Person
- IM
- Intramuscular
- IMCI
- Integrated management of childhood illness
- IPC
- Infection Prevention and Control
- IPTp
- Intermittent Preventive Treatment of Malaria during pregnancy
- ITN
- Insecticide-Treated Bed Nets
- IV
- Intravenous
- KMC
- Kangaroo Mother Care
- LBW
- Low Birth Weight
- M&E
- Monitoring and Evaluation
- MDSPR
- Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response
- MISP
- Minimum Initial Service Package for Sexual and Reproductive Health
- MNH
- Maternal and Newborn Health
- NBFG
- Newborn Health in Emergencies Field Guide
- NMR
- Neonatal Mortality Rate NGO Non-Governmental Organization
- PMTCT
- Prevention of Mother-To-Child Transmission (of HIV)
- PNC
- Postnatal Care
- pPROM
- Preterm Premature Rupture of Membranes
- PSBI
- Possible Severe Bacterial Infection
- RHA
- Rapid Health Assessment
- RMC
- Respectful Maternal (and Newborn) Care
- SBA
- Skilled Birth Attendant
- SDG
- Sustainable Development Goals
- SRH
- Sexual and Reproductive Health
- SRMNCAH
- Sexual Reproductive Maternal Newborn and Child Health
- STI
- Sexually Transmitted Infection
- STS
- Skin to Skin
- TBA
- Traditional Birth Attendant
- TT
- Tetanus Toxoid
- U5MR
- Under-five Mortality Rate
- UN
- United Nations
- UNFPA
- United Nations Population Fund
- UNICEF
- United Nations Children’s Fund
- UNIGME
- UN Inter-agency Group for Child Morality Estimation
- WASH
- Water Sanitation and Hygiene
- WHO
- World Health Organization