Unang yakap (first embrace) saves life of mother and her newborn

Unang Yakap (First Embrace) 4&5 is the campaign for all practitioners and health facilities to adopt and embrace the safe and quality care of Essential Itrapartum and Neonatal Care (EINC) for our birthing mothers and their newborns. The EINC evidenced-based standards help reduce reduce maternal and newborn mordity and deaths. It also supports the Philippine Government commitment to the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDG) 4 and 5 by 2015.

• Unang Yakap

In 2011, the Unang Yakap instructional design is integrated into the curriculum of aspiring physicians in 13, out of 38, medical schools in the country. The Unang Yakap is the endpoint of birthing practices under the Essential Intrapartum and Newborn Care (EINC). The Boards of Medicine, Nursing and Midwifery of the Philippine Regulations Commission (PRC) also added EINC questions into their 2012 Board Examinations.

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The EINC practices are evidenced-based standards for safe and quality care of birthing mothers and their newborns, within the 48 hours of Intrapartum period (labor and delivery) and a week of life for the newborn.

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• Watch the EINC advocacy video

Implementing Essential Intrapartum and Newborn Care (EINC) practices, initially in 11 selected government hospitals that represent 70,000 annual live births, is effective in changing practices. EINC practices lead to the First Embrace (Unang Yakap) of Mother and her Newborn. The hospitals, which claimed the EINC process as their own, implement them conscientiously. They observed dramatic changes.

• 13 medical institutions first to adopt the Unang Yakap in their curriculum