• ceive antiretroviral prophylaxis to prevent mother-to-child transmission of the virus, along with appropriate counseling on infant feeding options (Chapter 8).

Improving Birth Outcomes in the Future

Recommendation 5. Each country should develop a strategy to reduce maternal, neonatal, and fetal mortality, a framework of activities by which this can be accomplished, and the commitment of health leaders to accomplish these goals (Chapter 5).

Recommendation 6. To determine the true burden of disease associated with adverse birth outcomes and measure the effectiveness of interventions to address these problems, basic epidemiological and surveillance data must be collected, analyzed, interpreted, and acted upon. Each country should, as resources permit, incrementally develop complete national demographic data and ongoing surveillance of maternal, neonatal, and fetal mortality and morbidity (Chapter 5).

Recommendation 7. Each country should strengthen its public health capacity for recognizing and implementing interventions that have proven effective in reducing maternal, neonatal and fetal mortality in similar populations. This also involves monitoring and tuning interventions for clinical- and cost-effectiveness in the local setting (Chapter 5).