Every Breath Counts Handbook
A Practical NICU Handbook Saving Newborn Lives Across Africa
When caring for a critically ill newborn, healthcare providers need practical guidance they can trust.
Every Breath Counts: Manual of Neonatal Care & Drug Doses is a comprehensive, 440-page bedside reference developed from years of hands-on experience caring for premature and critically ill newborns in resource-limited hospitals. Written by Dr Swanson and his neonatology team in Arusha, the handbook provides practical, evidence-based guidelines that help physicians and nurses deliver safe, effective neonatal care in low-resource settings.
Today, Every Breath Counts is helping healthcare professionals across Africa improve the survival of their smallest and most vulnerable patients.
What’s Inside
Designed for everyday clinical practice, the handbook includes practical guidance on:
- Neonatal assessment and NICU care
- Evidence-based clinical protocols
- Neonatal drug dosing
- Respiratory support and oxygen therapy
- Feeding and nutrition for premature infants
- Infection prevention and control
- Thermoregulation and Kangaroo Mother Care
- Emergency management and clinical decision-making
Whether used during bedside care, clinical training, or continuing education, Every Breath Counts is a practical resource for physicians, nurses, and neonatal healthcare teams.
Used Across Africa
Distributed to over 300 hospitals, used in 25 African countries.
The handbook has become an essential resource for clinicians seeking practical guidance for caring for premature and critically ill newborns.
Part of a Larger Mission
The handbook complements the Tiny Feet Big Steps Neonatology Conferences, where physicians and nurses from across Africa receive hands-on training in neonatal care. Each hospital receives the handbook as a reference to implement what they learn when they return to their hospitals.
Expanding Access Through Digital Technology
The Every Breath Counts Handbook has already reached hundreds of hospitals across Africa in printed form. But we know that many clinicians still need quick, reliable access to neonatal reference materials at the bedside.
To make the handbook more accessible, the Every Breath Counts team has now converted the handbook into a mobile app, putting its practical neonatal guidance directly at the fingertips of healthcare providers.
The app is designed to make it easier for physicians and nurses to quickly find clinical protocols, drug dosing information, respiratory care guidance, and other essential neonatal resources—whether they are in a NICU, attending a training conference, or caring for a newborn in a resource-limited setting.
The digital version will help us:
- Expand access to clinicians beyond the hospitals that currently have the printed handbook
- Make information available at the bedside when it is needed most
- Reach more healthcare providers across Africa and beyond
- Keep clinical information current as neonatal care continues to evolve
The Every Breath Counts app is an important next step in our goal of making practical, evidence-based neonatal knowledge as accessible as possible to healthcare providers caring for newborns in resource-limited settings.
The app is currently being prepared for rollout, with plans to introduce it to participants at the Tiny Feet Big Steps conference in Nairobi.
Our goal is to make the lifesaving knowledge in the Every Breath Counts Handbook as accessible as possible to healthcare providers caring for newborns in resource-limited settings.
If you are interested in partnering with us to help expand digital access, we would welcome the opportunity to connect. Please email us: stephanie@ichafrica.org
Ordering Process
If you would like to purchase the handbook or request copies for your hospital or training program:
- Submit the Every Breath Counts Request Form
- ICHA staff will then connect with you to finalize details.
- Your Payment/Donation can be made.
How you can help
We invite individuals, community and corporate sponsors to provide funds so that doctors, nurses and hospitals can have copies of Every Breath Counts for their NICU staff.
Make a donation:
- A one-time gift to support the work of ICHA.
- Become a monthly partner enabling consistency and reliability in our budgeting and services.