Since 2006, Enfants du Monde has been implementing a program that seeks to contribute to improving maternal and newborn health in El Salvador, Central America. The association has recently designed leaflets in collaboration with the Salvadoran Ministry of Health that provide information on COVID-19 and the health of pregnant women, young mothers and newborns, to support the government in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Distributing 85,000 information leaflets

On Friday, October 30, a first delivery of 1,000 leaflets for pregnant women was handed over to the Salvadoran Ministry of Health. These copies were then distributed in the Communal Family Health Unit of Panchimalco, in the department of San Salvador.

A total of 85,000 leaflets will be handed over to the Ministry of Health to be sent afterwards to the health centers in the 5 health regions of the country.

These leaflets were designed according to the recommendations of the World Health Organization and the Ministry of Health in order to apprise pregnant women, who reach out to 754 municipal family health units and 28 maternity hospitals in the country for maternal care and newborn health.

Improving maternal and newborn health in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

Faced with the escalating epidemic in the country, these information leaflets are an extension of the campaign to raise awareness among the general public about protective measures against COVID-19. The leaflets recall the main symptoms of COVID-19 and the barrier measures to be put in place to protect themselves and newborns from the virus. The leaflets also recall that:

• All pregnant women have the right to quality care before, during and after childbirth, whether or not they are infected with COVID-19;
• All women have the right to a positive birth experience, whether or not they are infected with COVID-19 (if clinical conditions allow: mobility during childbirth, choice of birth position, possibility of being accompanied by a person of choice, support of early skin-to-skin attachment with the newborn);
• A woman infected with COVID-19 can breastfeed her baby if she wishes to (by wearing a protective mask, washing her hands before and after touching the baby).

The key messages are followed by pictures that make it easier to understand the messages for women and their families, whether they were illiterate or not.