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 lack access to reliable neonatal reference materials when they need them most. To address this need, the team at Institute for Child Healthcare Africa is actively exploring ways to make the handbook available in a digital format. A mobile and digital version would allow physicians and nurses to quickly access neonatal protocols, drug dosing information, and clinical guidance directly from their phones or computers.

Making the handbook digital would help us:

  • Reach thousands more clinicians across Africa and Asia
  • Provide instant updates as neonatal care evolves
  • Ensure critical information is available at the bedside whenever it is needed

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:

  1. Submit the Every Breath Counts Request Form
  2. ICHA staff will then connect with you to finalize details.
  3. 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:

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