NOVA Season 13 Episode 6 Child Survival: The Silent Emergency

Child survival rates have improved dramatically in recent years but global infant mortality still remains a critical issue. NOVA season 13 episode 6 - "Child Survival: The Silent Emergency" delves into the various factors affecting infant mortality rates across the globe and the efforts being made to address this global imbalance.

With the help of doctors, researchers, and health workers, NOVA takes on an investigative journey starting from the high-rise office buildings of America to the rural farming communities of Egypt, presenting a multifaceted look at how regional differences in birth practices, nutrition, and health systems shape a child's chances of survival.

The episode begins by examining the U.S. maternity wards, where expecting mothers are treated with the latest technologies and superior healthcare facilities. Despite all the advancements, newborn mortality rates are still disproportionately high in the country. Consequently, NOVA attempts to analyze why babies born to African-American mothers have higher mortality rates than those born to white or Hispanic mothers.

With racial disparities pervading American society, NOVA goes to Chicago to meet with black maternal healthcare advocates that are working to reduce the staggering infant mortality rates amongst African American babies. Through the lens of one family, who nearly lost their child due to inadequate medical care, we see the devastating consequences of the inequality of care in the United States.

An abrupt cut leads the viewer to a rural village in Upper Egypt, where a nurse is passionately discussing the challenges of providing remote care and how it often leads to avoidable infant deaths. The episode highlights the significant correlation between child survival rates and the education level of mothers, many of whom do not know how to seek medical attention for their sick infants.

NOVA introduces viewers to one such mother, who lost her child to preventable disease, and shares the epidemiological consequences of missing those critical early medical interventions. In addition, NOVA showcases various interventions that could aid in reducing infant mortality rates, such as the provision of education, training, and infrastructure investments to remote communities worldwide.

Finally, the show heads over to the Republic of Nicaragua, where public policies that are changing the health landscape around child survival are shown. Thanks to the country's investment in healthcare, the proportion of kids who survive to their fifth birthday has more than doubled in the last few years. NOVA features a local pediatrician working to reduce the number of childhood deaths that occur due to pneumonia. The doctor innocently explains the challenges he faced while working to change old practices and behaviors that have led to preventable infant deaths in his community.

"Child Survival: The Silent Emergency" provides a global perspective on the primary threat to child health, the silent killer. Despite some mildly disturbing scenes of death and injury, the show never loses its focus and has enough depth to make for an effective learning tool. Viewers of this episode become aware of the audacity of an infant's death and the consequent actions to need to be taken by individuals, organizations, and governments to protect vulnerable newborns worldwide.

NOVA season 13 episode 6 shows a collection of stories on efforts made to decrease infant mortality rates throughout the world. It also encourages us to reflect on the factors that contribute to the imposition of death on the most vulnerable members of society.