Every year, 1 in 10 babies are born too soon. Preterm birth is the leading cause of under-5 child deaths and accounts for over one third of all newborn deaths. A preterm baby’s chances of survival are starkly different based on where they are born: newborns in sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia are 10 times more likely to die in their first month than newborns in high-income countries. In 2012, an impressive global coalition of partners launched Born Too Soon: The Global Action Report on Preterm Birth, setting a pathway for intensified advocacy and action on maternal and newborn health. Today there is much progress to celebrate, especially in the care of preterm babies. However, rates of preterm birth have barely shifted and the burden of preterm birth remains huge, impacting babies, families, communities and whole societies through a staggering loss of human capital. At this juncture – 10 years since the original report – partners from over 60 organizations and 40 countries have come together again to develop Born Too Soon: A Decade of Change for Preterm Birth. This report looks back at the progress and challenges of the past decade and grapples with contemporary challenges, such as conflict, climate change, COVID-19 and the cost-of-living crisis. Born Too Soon elevates the voices of survivors and affected families and puts a strong emphasis on upholding their rights and providing respectful and family-centered care. The report identifies priority investments and solutions needed at scale to accelerate action; country examples demonstrate that progress is possible.

Millions of women, children and adolescents continue to die from preventable, treatable causes, while many more are threatened by the ongoing polycrisis of conflict, climate change, cost of living and crises. With advocacy as its core function and together with its nearly 1500 partners, PMNCH seeks changes in policy, financing and services for the most vulnerable women, children and adolescents across the world and holds each other accountable for delivering on promises. The PMNCH Annual Report presents the highlights of the impact achieved in 2023 across three main focus areas: maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH); sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR); and adolescent well-being (AWB).

In this issue of Critical Care Nursing Clinics, guest editor Leslie Altimier, DNP, RNC, NE-BC, brings her considerable expertise to the topic of Neonatal Nursing: Clinical Concepts and Practice Implications, Part 1. Top experts provide clinical reviews covering mother's milk versus donor milk, retinopathy of prematurity, non-invasive ventilation, management of peri-viable infants, and much more, with a focus on best practices and improving patient outcomes. - Contains 12 relevant, practice-oriented topics including dangerous things we used to do in neonatology; racial disparities and neonatal outcomes; changing the paradigm of care through couplet care; nurse-led telehealth interventions for infants discharged from the NICU and their caregivers; neonatal care from a global perspective; and more. - Provides in-depth clinical reviews on neonatal nursing, offering actionable insights for clinical practice. - Presents the latest information on this timely, focused topic under the leadership of experienced editors in the field. Authors synthesize and distill the latest research and practice guidelines to create clinically significant, topic-based reviews.

A timely, revelatory first look into the impact climate change has on children—the greatest moral crisis humanity faces today—by a pediatrician in the fastest warming city in America. Wildfires, hurricanes, and heat waves make headlines. But what is happening in Debra Hendrickson’s clinic tells another story of this strange and unsettling time. Hendrickson is a pediatrician in Reno, Nevada—the fastest warming city in the United States, where ash falls like snow during summer wildfires. In The Air They Breathe, Dr. Hendrickson recounts patients she’s seen who were harmed by worsening smoke, smog, and pollen; two boys in Arizona, stricken by record-setting heat while hiking; children who fled for their lives from Hurricane Harvey and the Tubbs Fire; and a little girl whose life was forever altered by the Zika virus outbreak in 2016. The climate crisis is a health crisis, and it is a health crisis, first and foremost, for children. Children’s bodies are interwoven with and shaped by their surroundings. As the planet warms and their environment changes, children’s health is at risk. The youngest are especially vulnerable because their brain, lungs, and other organs are forming and growing every day, and because their physiology is so different from that of adults. Childhood has always been a risky period of life; throughout history, babies and children have met peril, from polio to famine, from cyclones to war. Yet they have never quite had to face, in quite this way, the potential loss of the future itself. The Air They Breathe is not just about the health impacts of global warming, but something more: a soul-stirring reminder of our moral responsibility to our children, and their profound connections to this unique and irreplaceable world.

The “Transitioning to Midwifery Models of Care: Global Position Paper” is a comprehensive document produced by the World Health Organization (WHO) Department of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent health and ageing, under the Strategic Technical Advisory Group of Experts for Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent health and nutrition (STAGE), in collaboration with WHO technical departments, regional offices and numerous stakeholders. In the pursuit of providing high-quality health services to improve health and well-being for all in the context of Universal Health Coverage, transitioning to midwifery models of care represents a cost-effective strategy to optimize outcomes for women and newborns with minimal use of unnecessary interventions. This position paper offers an international definition, describes the guiding principles of midwifery models of care and reviews the advantages of adopting these models of care. It highlights the significant role and impact that midwives can have within health systems, while recognizing the importance of collaborative and integrated care where various professionals jointly contribute to providing high-quality maternal and newborn health services.

This book examines the toxicological and health implications of environmental epigenetics and provides knowledge through an interdisciplinary approach. Included in this volume are chapters outlining various environmental risk factors such as phthalates and dietary components, life states such as pregnancy and ageing, hormonal and metabolic considerations and specific disease risks such as cancer cardiovascular diseases and other non-communicable diseases. Environmental Epigenetics imparts integrative knowledge of the science of epigenetics and the issues raised in environmental epidemiology. This book is intended to serve both as a reference compendium on environmental epigenetics for scientists in academia, industry and laboratories and as a textbook for graduate level environmental health courses. Environmental Epigenetics imparts integrative knowledge of the science of epigenetics and the issues raised in environmental epidemiology. This book is intended to serve both as a reference compendium on environmental epigenetics for scientists in academia, industry and laboratories and as a textbook for graduate level environmental health courses.