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Li Xiaohan, a 29-year-old doctor in the gynaecology and obstetrics department at Yinghua Town Central Hospital, feels very happy that she has been able to care for and help so many pregnant women and new mothers in the last few years. The mother of a four-year-old girl herself, Dr. Li said, “Even though I'm an OB/GYN, I used to not know a lot about infant and young child nutrition. I only breastfed my own daughter for four months. I wish that I could have benefited from UNICEF's training earlier!"

Over at Huilan Town Central Hospital, Dr. Qin Xiaohuan has benefited from UNICEF-supported training since the very beginning of her career. Since graduating in 2008, Qin Xiaohuan has participated in many rounds of training organized with UNICEF support. Earlier this year, she was seconded to Shifang County MCH Hospital for three months. The extended hands-on training helped her greatly, in both theoretical understanding and practice. Dr. Qin pays frequent home visits to check up on pregnant women and new mothers. Through her work, she has become well-known in Huilan Town and has won the respect of the community.

"A lot of people come up to me in the street to say hello, just like old friends.This makes me feel proud. I see how much our work has touched people's lives," she said.

©UNICEF/China/2011/Yan Lu UNICEF has provided medical supplies and equipment as well as trainings for health staff after the earthquake.

Another doctor who has benefited from UNICEFsupported secondment training for township-level maternal and child health staff is Feng Xuemei from Yinfeng Town Hospital. "Before the training, I didn't know how to make a partogram to monitor and manage the process of labour. Last year, I was seconded to Shifang County MCH Hospital for several months and learned a lot.  With the training, I am now better able to detect any delay or deviation from normal labour and treat it accordingly. I've also learned how to prevent and respond to post-partum haemorrhage,” she said.

During the reconstruction phase, UNICEF has worked to build maternal and child health capacity at both the township level and the county. At the county level, the support has focused on the establishment of basic obstetric and newborn services, while at the county level, it has focused on the establishment of comprehensive services.

According to Zeng Ying, the Director of the Outpatient Department at Shifang County MCH Hospital, "The UNICEF-supported trainings were very helpful. They helped to improve the capacity of our staff, standardize the prenatal check-up process, and strengthen prenatal monitoring and screening."

After the earthquake, Shifang County MCH Hospital was moved into a newly constructed building, and supplied with updated medical equipment. UNICEF helped to complement the incredible infrastructural advances by supporting guidelines and trainings to help health staff deliver higher quality, more standardized service. Since participating in the training, Dr. Zeng has standardized the package of prenatal check- up services provided at Shifang County MCH Hospital, leading to the more efficient delivery of high-quality services among health staff and increased health literacy among pregnant women, who now have a better understanding of the services that they should be receiving.

By Cheng Jing