What are Some Advances in Healthcare Services to Pregnant Women and Infants?

Craig Rubens, MD, PhD, co-founder and executive director of GAPPS at Seattle Children’s Hospital, discusses exciting advancements being made in improving the treatment of pregnant women and babies.

Interview Transcript (slightly modified for readability)

“I think there [are] a couple of things that are really exciting; one is, the world is waking up [and recognizing] that if we’re going to impact the mortality that is occurring in women and babies early, we need more research. We also need to raise awareness and [emphasize this] in our healthcare systems around the globe; that will improve outcomes.

The fact that infections play a big role [and] antibiotics are very important in terms of managing those infections, really is also driving efforts by companies and others to actually develop diagnostics. I’m very excited about some of the new diagnostics that can identify a patient early as to what’s causing their infection and how we can translate that to use in these high-burden settings in the developing world and low/middle income countries. I think it’s going to be a very exciting frontier because if we know what we’re treating, we [will] use antibiotics better, and we [will] decrease the pressure on antibiotic resistance that’s emerging all over the globe. It also leads to better, appropriate usage of antibiotics and [decreases the] risk to the infant, because when we use antibiotics, there’s risk, [as with] any kind of treatment and therapy, whether it’s in the hospital or in the home.

I’m very excited about the new emphasis by the [United Nations] UN, the [World Health Organization] WHO, and governments to try and improve healthcare and healthcare services to pregnant women and their babies, but also, what’s happening technologically, on the research for diagnostics and therapies that can be used in these settings.”