Preterm birth is a leading cause in neonatal deaths, and these deaths are most common in low-resource settings where many infants are born at home and trained medical professionals are scarce. Methods to accurately estimate gestational age are often complex and community health workers (CHW) do not have the education and skills to accurately assess the infants. As a result, many preterm infants go unrecognized, which can cause severe morbidity or even mortality.

Detailed description of the solution

The pictorial scorecard is designed so that CHWs can identify early preterm (<34 weeks) and late preterm (34-37 weeks) infants. The card includes a chart of five physical characteristics – skin texture, ear shape, breast form, foot skin creases, and lanugo – that can be easily assessed without expensive technology or complex computations. The back of the card includes a ruler to measure the infant's foot size. Caretakers of late preterm infants would be given training in skin to skin contact and breast-feeding support, while infants identified as early term would be referred to a hospital facility

Designed by

• Designed by: Team at Johns Hopkins University lead by Ann CC Lee, Associate in the Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
• Manufacturer (if different):
• Manufacturer location: Baltimore, MD USA

When and where it was tested/implemented

Funding Source

Finalist of Saving Lives at Birth competition

References