Implementing Education to Reduce Neonatal Mortality in Low-Resource Environments.

Mortality among children under 5 years of age in developing countries has fallen dramatically in recent decades. Unfortunately, declines in neonatal mortality during this period have been less impressive. Neonatal mortality now accounts for >40% of under-5 mortality.1 About onequarter of neonatal deaths result from intrapartum-related conditions and their consequences (eg, birth asphyxia), 2 with an estimated 10 million newborns requiring some level of intervention to establish breathing and circulation at the time of birth.3 One strategy for reducing neonatal mortality is to improve the care of babies at the time of birth by improving the knowledge and skills of providers. Helping Babies Breathe (HBB), a low-cost and lowtech simulation-based educational program on newborn resuscitation, was developed to support this strategy. In this issue of Pediatrics, Arlington et al4 report the evaluation of large-scale implementation of HBB in Tanzania as a strategy to reduce neonatal mortality.