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Introduction: Preterm and low birth weight (LBW) infants are at an increased risk of morbidity and mortality compared with their term counterparts, with more than 20 million LBW infants born each year, the majority in lower middle-income countries (LMICs). Given the increased vulnerability and higher nutritional needs of these infants, optimizing feeding strategies may play a crucial role in improving their health outcomes. Methods: We updated evidence of Every Newborn Series published in The Lancet 2014 by identifying relevant systematic reviews, extracting low-income country (LIC) and LMIC data, and conducting revised meta-analysis for these contexts. Results: We found 15 reviews; the evidence showed that early initiation of enteral feeding reduced neonatal mortality overall, but not in LIC/LMIC settings. Breastfeeding promotion interventions increased the prevalence of early initiation of breastfeeding and exclusive breastfeeding at 3 and 6 months of age in LMIC settings. There was an increased risk of neonatal mortality with formula milk in LIC/LMIC settings. Despite contributing to greater weight gain, there was a higher risk of necrotizing enterocolitis with formula milk overall. Breast milk fortification and nutrient-enriched formula improved growth outcomes. Iron and vitamin A supplementation reduced anemia and mortality rates (LMIC), respectively. The evidence also suggested that benefits of various different micronutrient supplementation interventions such as zinc, calcium/phosphorous, and vitamin D, outweigh the risks since our review demonstrates little to no adverse effects deriving from their supplementation, particularly for a breastfed preterm and/or LBW infant. Conclusion: Early adequate nutritional support of preterm or LBW infant is paramount to averse adverse health outcomes, contribute to normal growth, resistance to infection, and optimal development. Breast milk feeding and micronutrient supplementation are crucial to reduce diarrhea incidence and mortality respectively while feed fortification or nutrient-enriched formula, when breast milk is not available, to enhance better growth especially in LMICs where there is higher population of growth restriction and stunting. This review also highlights need for randomized trials in LMICs at large scale to further strengthen the evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: We present a robust and up-to-date synthesis of evidence on the effectiveness of interventions to prevent and treat newborn infections in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Newborn infection prevention interventions included strategies to reduce antimicrobial resistance (AMR), prevention of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), clean birth kits (CBKs), chlorhexidine cleansing, topical emollients, and probiotic and synbiotic supplementation. Interventions to treat suspected neonatal infections included prophylactic systemic antifungal agents and community-based antibiotic delivery for possible serious bacterial infections (PSBIs). Methods: A descriptive review combining different methodological approaches was conducted. To provide the most suitable recommendations for real-world implementation, our analyses considered the impact of these interventions within three distinct health settings: facility, mixed, and community. Results: In facility settings, the strongest evidence supported the implementation of multimodal stewardship interventions for AMR reduction and device-associated infection prevention bundles for HAI prevention. Emollients in preterm newborns reduced the risk of invasive infection compared to routine skin care. Probiotics in preterm newborns reduced neonatal mortality, invasive infection, and necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) risks compared to standard care or placebo. There was insufficient evidence for synbiotics and prophylactic systemic antifungals in LMICs. In mixed settings, CBKs reduced neonatal mortality risk compared to standard care. In community settings, chlorhexidine umbilical cord cleansing reduced omphalitis risk compared to dry cord care. For the treatment of PSBIs, purely domiciliary-based antibiotic delivery reduced the risk of all-cause neonatal mortality when compared to the standard hospital referral. Conclusion: Strategies for preventing HAIs and reducing AMR in healthcare facilities should be multimodal, and strategy selection should consider the feasibility of integration within existing newborn care programs. Probiotics are effective for facility-based use in preterm newborns; however, the establishment of high-quality, cost-effective mass production of standardized formulations is needed. Chlorhexidine cord cleansing is effective in community settings to prevent omphalitis in contexts where unhygienic cord applications are prevalent. Community-based antibiotic delivery of simplified regimens for PSBIs is a safe alternative when hospital-based care in LMICs is not possible or is declined by parents. More randomized trial evidence is needed to establish the effectiveness of CBKs, emollients, synbiotics, and prophylactic systemic antifungals in LMICs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Appropriate perinatal care provision and utilization is crucial to improve maternal and newborn survival and potentially meet Sustainable Development Goal 3. Ensuring availability of healthcare infrastructure as well as skilled personnel can potentially help improve maternal and neonatal outcomes globally as well as in resource-limited settings. Methods: A systematic review on effectiveness of perinatal care regionalization was updated, and a new review on facility-based interventions to improve postnatal care coverage and outcomes was conducted. The interventions were identified through literature reviews and included transport, mHealth, telemedicine, maternal education, capacity building, and incentive packages. Search was conducted in relevant databases and meta-analysis conducted on Review Manager 5.4. We conducted subgroup analysis for evidence from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Results: Implementation of regionalization programs significantly decreased maternal mortality in LMICs (OR: 0.43; 95% CI: 0.34–0.55, 2 studies), stillbirth overall (OR: 0.70; 95% CI: 0.54–0.89, 5 studies), perinatal mortality overall (OR: 0.54; 95% CI: 0.5–0.58, 2 studies), and LMICs (OR: 0.54; 95% CI: 0.50–0.58, 1 study). Transport-related interventions significantly decreased maternal mortality overall (OR: 0.55; 95% CI: 0.40–0.74, 1 study), neonatal mortality (RR: 0.76; 95% CI: 0.66–0.88, 1 study), perinatal mortality (RR: 0.86; 95% CI: 0.77–0.95, 1 study), and improved postnatal care coverage (OR: 6.89; 95% CI: 5.15–9.21, 1 study) in LMICs. Adding maternity homes/units significantly decreased stillbirth (OR: 0.75; 95% CI: 0.61–0.93, 1 study) in LMICs. Incentives for postnatal care significantly improved infant mortality (RR: 0.79; 95% CI: 0.65–0.96, 1 study), stillbirth (OR: 0.60; 95% CI: 0.44–0.83, 1 study), and postnatal care coverage (RR: 1.13; 95% CI: 1.03–1.25, 1 study) in LMICs. Telemedicine improved postnatal care coverage significantly in LMICs (RR: 2.54; 95% CI: 1.22–5.28, 3 studies) and decreased maternal mortality (OR: 0.46; 95% CI: 0.21–0.98, 1 study) and infant mortality (OR: 0.65; 95% CI: 0.45–0.95) in LMICs. Maternal education significantly decreased neonatal mortality (RR: 0.75; 95% CI: 0.66–0.84, 2 studies), perinatal mortality (RR: 0.86; 95% CI: 0.77–0.95, 1 study), infant mortality (RR: 0.79; 95% CI: 0.65–0.96, 1 study), and stillbirth (RR: 0.61; 95% CI: 0.45–0.82, 1 study). Capacity-building interventions significantly decreased maternal mortality in LMICs (OR: 0.37; 95% CI: 0.29–0.46, 5 studies), neonatal mortality overall (OR: 0.72; 95% CI: 0.53–0.98, 4 studies) and in LMICs (OR: 0.63; 95% CI: 0.54–0.74, 3 studies, and RR: 0.61; 95% CI: 0.48–0.79, 3 studies), perinatal mortality (OR: 0.53; 95% CI: 0.45–0.62, 2 studies, and RR: 0.86; 95% CI: 0.77–0.95, 1 study), infant mortality (OR: 0.50; 95% CI: 0.43–0.59, 1 study, and RR: 0.79; 95% CI: 0.65–0.96, 1 study), under-5 mortality (RR: 0.79; 95% CI: 0.66–0.94, 1 study), and stillbirth in LMICs (OR: 0.71; 95% CI: 0.62–0.82, 4 studies), and preterm birth overall (OR: 0.39; 95% CI: 0.19–0.81, 1 study). Conclusion: Perinatal regionalization and facility-based interventions have a positive impact on maternal and neonatal outcomes and calls for implementation in high burden settings but a better understanding of optimal interventions is needed through comprehensive trials in diverse settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]