Maternal & Child Health

Every seven seconds, a woman or her newborn child dies from complications arising from pregnancy and childbirth.

At the foundation, using both state-of-the-art innovations and tried-and-tested maternal health interventions, we are working to save more mothers and infants all over the world.

A nurse manager, demonstrates how to use a drape to prevent postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) at Makueni County Referral Hospital in Makueni County, Wote, Kenya.

This simple tool is helping prevent maternal deaths worldwide

Discover how Kenya’s E-MOTIVE protocol and a low-cost blood-loss drape reduces severe postpartum bleeding by 60%, saving thousands of mothers each year.
Maryam Mustafa, assistant professor at the Department of Computer Science at the Lahore University of Management Sciences and co-founder of Awaaz-e-Sehat, pictured in Lahore, Pakistan.

How a computer scientist is using AI to save mothers’ lives in Pakistan

Dr. Maryam Mustafa is building an AI tool to close dangerous gaps in maternal care and help more women in Pakistan survive pregnancy and childbirth.
Beimnet Endashaw, (25), a health extension worker, prepares a contraceptive injection at the Shera Dibandiba health post center near Mojo town, Ethiopia on September 2, 2019.

The future of women’s health technology

Women should be trusted to make informed decisions about their own health—free from discrimination, bias, or coercion—regardless of who they are or where they live.
What is maternal immunization?

The power of maternal vaccines

Learn about medical professionals and families whose stories illustrate how far this field has come—and how much more progress is needed.
Dr Sugandha Arya of Safdarjung Hospital talks about her journey with th IKMC trials at BMGF Delhi Office on the 9th July 2024

One doctor’s journey to transform newborn care

An Indian pediatrician transforms newborn care by championing a life-saving approach.
Dr Susan Ontiri, Country Director of the International Center for Reproductive Health Kenya, poses for a portrait in Mtwapa, Kenya, on August 29, 2024.

Listening to women: Transforming family planning through contraceptive choice

Family planning researchers are taking a different approach to measuring women’s needs for contraceptive access and getting more accurate data in the process.
Jane Waire performs an ultrasound on Faith Nwanza in Mai Mahiu, Kenya.

Ultrasounds in hand, midwives are transforming maternal health

Nurses and midwives have deep expertise that saves women’s lives every day. With new portable and AI-enabled ultrasounds in hand, they can do more.
By Rasa Izadnegahdar Director, Maternal, Newborn, Child Nutrition & Health, Gates Foundation
A state health officer marks Muneerah Oyekan’s (9) finger to indicate that she’s received the HPV vaccine during the first phase of a country-wide HPV Vaccination Campaign targeting school-age girls between 9 and 14 years old in Lagos State, Nigeria, on November 3, 2023.

Four things to know about the single-dose HPV vaccine for cervical cancer

The single-dose HPV vaccine saves thousands of women's lives every year. Learn more about access for people to get the dose and effectiveness against cervical cancer.
By Anita Zaidi President, Gender Equality Division, Gates Foundation