Every year, nearly 2 million newborns die around the time of birth. Around 300,000 women die of pregnancy and birth-related causes. The burden is unacceptably high in low-income countries. We set out to change that. And we hope others will do the same.
Through the collaboration of doctors, midwives, researchers, product developers supported by partners and government agencies, we work towards a future where all births are safe.
Safer Births is a project with the simple aim that a mother who comes to a hospital should be able to deliver her baby safely.
— Dr. Paschal Mdoe, Medical Managing Director, Haydom Lutheran Hospital
Key milestones
2009
Launch of Helping Babies Breathe, an evidence-based newborn resuscitation training program.
2010
Laerdal Global Health established to help save lives of mothers and newborns in low-income countries.
2013
The Safer Births Project at Haydom Lutheran Hospital in Tanzania is launched.
2015
The Upright Resuscitator was launched by Laerdal Global Health. The vertical design of Upright allows forces to be centered on to the face mask, which can have benefits regarding mask sealing to minimize leakage. Research through Safer Births also lead to the launch of the first low-cost reusable resuscitator with integrated PEEP valve on the market, called Upright Resuscitator with PEEP.
2016
Moyo fetal heart monitor is launched. This digital monitor provides immediate, accurate feedback on fetal heart rate.
2018
The NeoBeat heart rate meter is launched. Provides immediate feedback to guide healthcare workers during resuscitation.
2019
Launch of the Safer Births report, which presents the goals and achievements of the project, an extensive annotated bibliography and takes a look at the way forward – to help save more lives.
2020
Safer Births Bundle of Care Scale-Up is launched in 30 hospitals in Tanzania covering 500,000 births/year.
2021
The Newborn Time project was developed to automatically create a timeline of birth and resuscitation activities. Artificial Intelligence (AI) detects time of birth from thermal cameras in the delivery room.
2023
Preliminary results from the Safer Births Bundle of Care implementation in Tanzania (reaching 30 hospitals in 5 regions) are promising, showing over 50% reduction in maternal mortality and 45% in neonatal mortality.
2023/2024
Thanks to major funding from the World Bank’s Global Financing Facility and the commitment of the Ministry of Health in Tanzania, the Safer Births Bundle of Care implementation is scaled up to over 150 hospitals, reaching thousands more healthcare personnel with the potential to save many more lives.
