South African experience in perinatal training

The care of newborn infants in clinics and district hospitals, especially in poor, rural communities, is usually provided by primary care nurses and doctors who often do not have access to continuing education. To meet this need, a cheap, self-directed programme in maternal and newborn care was developed in South Africa (the Perinatal Education Programme). This innovative method of distance learning has enabled 20 000 health care workers to take responsibility for their training. A number of trials and two prospective controlled studies have documented that this is an effective means of learning knowledge and skills, altering attitudes, and improving the standard of newborn care. This programme could be implemented with equal success in many developing countries.