Back in 2005 a few researchers noticed that in rural parts of Uttar Pradesh, India a couple of easy-to-implement health messages made a big difference in neonatal mortality. The coolest was addressing the misconception that birth attendants shouldn’t wash their hands before the delivery. Locals didn’t think it was a big deal to have clean hands during the birth (only that they should wash their hands afterward to wash away the birth fluids). Health teachers cleared this up by comparing the process to how they prepared curdled milk—a local staple. Villagers knew that dirty hands would spoil the curdling process and when teachers explained the concept was the same for the germs passing on to the newborn it resonated with the moms and midwives. Neonatal mortality dropped by about fifty percent—from approximately 80/1,000 to 40/1,000. Maternal mortality also went down noticeably. The project included other important messages, like breastfeeding on the day of birth (instead of waiting for the priest to bless the birth) and the importance of skin-on-skin contact with the mother. 

Photo from Flickr/Gates Foundation