by Marvin Nyansio, Producer, Uganda BABY! International Film Festival

On November 18, 2011 BABY! International Film Festival returned to Uganda.  This time, traveling from Kampala to the northern district of Apac.  Our 2nd Annual BABY! Uganda Film Festival was held at Apac Hospital. Drawing 500 women, men, families, midwives, White Ribbon Alliance and other maternal health and family organization representatives to come together and share, learn… and for most, have a first educational understanding about pregnancy and birth.

by Hayley Jarvis, for SOS Children

Breast-feeding, taking care of South African Aids orphans, giving birth, and the Hollywood portrayal of birth were centre stage at Africa’s first Baby! International Film Festival.The festival arrived at the National Theatre in the capital, Kampala, aiming to raise awareness and spark debate about babies and mothers’ health and orphans.
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Some of the Facts from the Children’s Defense Fund about Children in America (July, 2011)

• 2 mothers die in childbirth.
• 5 children are killed by abuse or neglect.
• 5 children or teens commit suicide.
• 32 children or teens die from accidents.
• 80 babies die before their first birthdays.
• 949 babies are born at low birthweight.
• 1,204 babies are born to teen mothers.
• 2,058 children are confirmed as abused or neglected.
• 2,163 babies are born without health insurance.
• 2,573 babies are born into poverty.
• 186 children are arrested for violent offenses.
• 368 children are arrested for drug offenses.

Learn more statistics and information, at Children’s Defense Fund.
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by The American Academy of Pediatrics

CHICAGO – While the United States has made significant progress over the past decade in reducing newborn deaths, considerable work remains, as outlined in a study publishedAug. 30, 2011 in PLOS Medicine. Premature births, lack of prenatal care, high rates of obesity and inadequate preventive health care contribute to a neonatal mortality rate in the U.S. that is higher than that of other industrialized nations.

“This comparison gives us reason to think that we can do better,” said O. Marion Burton, MD, FAAP, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). “Pediatricians are committed to protecting our most vulnerable children. We must work with other physicians, organizations and governmental agencies to bring about the positive changes that will drive down neonatal mortality, both here in the U.S. and abroad.”
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The BABY! International Film Festival in Kampala, focused on issues related to infant and maternal health.

It was not your typical film festival at the National Theatre in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, and those attending were not the typical throngs who usually visit. But the issues were no less captivating, the ensuing debates no less passionate.The Baby! International Film Festival arrived in Africa for the first time last weekend and featured films on topics such as breast-feeding, taking care of children orphaned by Aids in South Africa, fistula in rural Uganda, giving birth in a Mexican bathtub, giving birth in Katine and the Hollywood portrayal of birth.
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