Maternal health advocates and Norwegian medical device maker Laerdal Medical hope the company's new birth-simulating device can better train birth attendants in developing countries and ultimately reduce the number of childbirth-related deaths, the Washington Post reports.

The low-tech "frontpack" device -- which was unveiled at June's Women Deliver conference -- consists of an artificial abdomen that the instructor wears like an apron. The "MamaNatalie," as the device is called, is made of washable neoprene wet-suit material and comes with a term-size infant that can be placed head-down or in a breech position. Using the device, the instructor can simulate most aspects of childbirth, including blood flow, uterine contraction and symptoms of fetal distress. A major benefit of the device is that "the sense of reality is heightened because the equipment is connected to and manipulated by a human being," the Post reports.

Laerdal Medical plans to sell the $100 device at cost to health ministries in developing countries and to organizations that collaborate with them, according to Tore Laerdal, the company's president. The Post reports that the device will not be manufactured in quantity until later this year.

Laerdal Medical also makes a newborn mannequin, "NeoNatalie," that is sold at cost to developing countries and used to teach birth attendants how to resuscitate infants who are not breathing. The company has made about 10,000 of the devices since 2008, and the Ethiopian government recently ordered 1,000.

According to a report published in May by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, about 343,000 women died, and millions more were disabled during pregnancy, childbirth or the six weeks after delivery in 2008. The global maternal mortality average is 251 deaths per 100,000 live births, although the rate varies considerably from country to country. More than 50% of all maternal deaths occur in six countries: Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria and Pakistan.

In 2000, the United Nations named reducing maternal mortality by 75% as one of its eight Millennium Development Goals. However, the world is not on track to meet the goal, as the rate in the 68 countries with the most maternal deaths has been falling by about 1.8% annually. A 5.5% average annual reduction would have been needed to achieve the MDG by the target date of 2015. Significantly greater reductions will be needed in the next five years to reach the goal (Brown, Washington Post, 7/6).

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