Pumwani Maternity Hospital is only one of five overstretched health facilities in Nairobi County where death of newborns is routine. In April and May, the Nairobi County Government published reports listing Nairobi as the most dangerous county for newborns in Kenya.
During the one-year study period, some 1,296 newborn deaths were recorded. An overwhelming number of the deaths occurred in only five facilities including Pumwani. The detailed survey of newborn health care services in Nairobi had been carried out by the County Department of Health, the Kenya Medical Research Institute and University of Oxford, UK.