iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Nothing warrants this and you know it. I cannot take it anymore. It must end. You have a voice, you owe it to these dying babies to use it.

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I feel nauseated because I know in the deepest, darkest part of my heart that ready-to-use therapeutic food should not be fucking needed in Gaza.

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I am served sponsored content from the World Food Program, a UN agency that I have worked with on countless occasions, asking me for money to provide ready-to-use therapeutic food to babies in Gaza.

I feel hopeless and homicidal and my thumbs tremble as I flip through the photos of innocent, starving babies on Instagram. My heart beats through my chest with rage even while I write this message.

I wake up every morning and see severe acute malnutrition inflicted by sadistic genocidal maniacs on innocent infants in Gaza. I sit on the couch with my phone in my hand and cry silently while I drink my coffee.

I cannot explain to you how palpable and contagious the joy is when a group of dedicated nutritionists work a full day in a rehabilitation center and see that the babies are getting better, and we go home knowing that they will make it.

Her baby is gaining weight. Her baby is becoming more active. Her baby is smiling again.

I cannot tell you how bright a mother’s eyes become when she realizes her baby will survive this deadly condition, because she got her hands on ready-to-use therapeutic food, she gives it to her baby religiously, and it’s working.

I have been so blessed to train with and work alongside hundreds, if not thousands, of inspiring individuals (physicians, midwives, nurses, nutritionists). I have learned so much and seen so much. I cannot explain in words what it feels like to see a child recover from severe acute malnutrition.

Severe acute malnutrition, the technical term for child starvation, is the most horrifying thing you could possibly imagine. I promise you that. I have spent my entire career combating it.

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Huge congratulations to Dr. Cheick Ouattara, our brilliant study coordinator, for leading this important paper with dedication and care from the field! 🥰 [12 of 12] @carllachat.bsky.social @gilescook.bsky.social @lhuybreg.bsky.social @kokebhaddis.bsky.social @laeticiacelinetoe.bsky.social

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Accurate gestational age isn’t just a number, it’s the foundation for monitoring pregnancy risk, ensuring appropriate newborn care, and implementing life-saving interventions. [11 of 12]

Our findings highlight a critical need: to improve access to obstetric #ultrasound in #BurkinaFaso and to train clinicians in accurate gestational age assessment, especially in the second and third trimesters. [10 of 12]

The problem? These methods don’t agree with each other. Like at all. Compared to ultrasound-based methods, these techniques overestimate the prevalence of #prematurity. This explains the inflated rates reported in routine data, and why we weren’t seeing #preterm births in our cohort. [9 of 12]

Here’s what we found: most women in #BurkinaFaso don’t have access to #ultrasound during #pregnancy. Instead, gestational age is estimated using traditional methods—last menstrual period (#LMP), symphysis-fundal height (#SFH), and others. [8 of 12]

But the question remained: Why such a massive discrepancy between our data and the statistics from health centers in Bobo-Dioulasso? [6 of 12]

This broader operational definition, based on low birth weight (#LBW), small-for-gestational age (#SGA), and/or preterm birth (#PTB), had just been proposed in a timely series by The Lancet on Small Vulnerable Newborns. We adapted. The study was saved 😅 [5 of 12] #smallVulnerableNewborns

Throughout the first 6 months of implementation, only four #preterm births were recorded in our cohort. That’s right, four, compared to the 48 we had projected. Naturally, we panicked 😨 [3 of 12]

Based on routine preterm prevalence data from our study sites in urban #BurkinaFaso, we estimated we’d reach our target sample size (50 #preterm and 50 full-term newborns) within roughly six months, expecting 8–12 preterm births per month. [2 of 12]