Clinical Bundle: Essential Care of the Newborn

A bundle is a small set of related evidence-based practices – generally three to five, that, when performed collectively and reliably to address a common problem, result in improved patient outcomes. This clinical bundle focuses on the essential newborn care, which includes key routine practices in the care of the newborn, particularly at the time of birth and over the first hours of life, whether in the health facility or at home. There is good evidence that adherence to recommended essential newborn care practices substantially reduces mortality risk, especially for very small newborns.

USAID’s MaMoni Maternal and Newborn Care Strengthening Project (MaMoni MNCSP) developed a set of Maternal and Newborn Health Quality Improvement (MNHQI) bundles for the Government of Bangladesh to increase provider skills and create an enabling environment to demonstrate results over time. Bundles do not represent comprehensive care; rather they form one among many strategies to improve care practices. They are based on national protocols, guidelines, standard operating procedures, and the World Heath Organization (WHO) Quality of Care (QoC) framework. These 17 bundles were implemented in 232 facilities in 14 project-supported districts.