The Incubator Global Neonatal Podcast

In this episode, Shelly-Ann sits down with Dr. Scott Guthrie to discuss his global health work, SALSA, and quality improvement. He shares how working alongside neonatal teams in different settings has shaped his approach to improving care, including what he has brought back to his own practice in Tennessee. From introducing SALSA in Azerbaijan to adapting lessons from a delayed cord clamping project in Ethiopia, Scott describes how learning moves in both directions between higher- and lower-resource settings. We also discuss the practical work of implementing change, training teams, and approaching global partnerships with humility and respect for local expertise.

----

Resources:

Article: SALSA a viable option for Middle Income and Low Income Countries https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35372140/

Article: Implementation of Surfactant Administration through Laryngeal or Supraglottic Airways (SALSA): A Jordanian NICU’s Journey to Improve Surfactant Administration https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36010038/

----

Connect with Dr. Scott Guthrie: [email protected]

----

Link to episode on youtube:  https://youtu.be/_riLsbA00JU

In this episode, Mbozu and Shelly-Ann sit down with Dr. Franck Houndjahoue to explore what it takes to strengthen newborn care in humanitarian and post-conflict settings. Drawing on nearly a decade of experience in the Central African Republic and other low-resource contexts, Dr. Houndjahoue shares how rebuilding newborn services requires far more than equipment: it depends on partnerships, training, data, and local leadership.

----

Connect with Dr Franck Houndjahoue by email: [email protected]

In this episode, Mbozu and Shelly-Ann sit down with Isabelle Furaha, a Congolese-born mother living in Uganda, whose experience with prematurity and loss led her to create Mama Tulia Ministries. After losing a 26-week infant and later bringing home a daughter born at 33 weeks due to preeclampsia, Isabelle committed herself to supporting other mothers facing the same fear and uncertainty.

What began as simple hospital visits and prayer, grew into a community-based continuum of care, supporting vulnerable mothers and preterm infants after discharge. Isabelle shares how Mama Tulia evolved from one woman visiting NICUs, into an NGO providing home follow-up, temporary housing, nutrition support, ROP screening advocacy, family engagement, and mentorship for mothers across Uganda.

----

Connect with Isabelle Furaha:  

https://tally.so/r/jagBkQ  

Mama Tulia Ministries  

Mama Tulia | Kampala 

https://www.instagram.com/mamatulia1/

Email: [email protected] 

In this episode, Mbozu and Shelly-Ann sit down with Dr. Naana Wireko Brobby, a neonatologist leading national efforts to strengthen newborn care in Ghana. She shares a grounded view of daily life at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, where high patient volumes, resource constraints, and continuous teaching shape clinical work.

The conversation traces her journey into neonatology, then moves into system-level change: building a national retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) telemedicine program, introducing caffeine citrate for apnea of prematurity, and advancing kangaroo mother care (KMC). Throughout, she highlights practical lessons on leadership, collaboration, and starting before conditions are perfect. 

Connect with Dr. Naana Ayiwa Wireko Brobby : Contact Form

In this episode, we explore a decade-long journey to transform newborn care in Ghana's Hohoe region, focusing on family systems of care, cross-cultural research collaborations, and innovative training approaches. In this episode we explore 

•The healthcare landscape for small and sick newborns in Ghana's Volta region

•The concept and application of family systems care versus family-centered care

•Development and adaptation of practical tools like genograms and echo maps for local    contexts

•Training healthcare providers in communication and relationship-building with families

•Case studies of integrating family involvement into neonatal care and outcomes

•The journey of collaborative research between colleagues

Resources mentioned in episode:

1.  Families' Perception of Cognitive and Emotional Support From Healthcare Professionals Across the Maternal and Newborn Care Continuum https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41546394/
2. Family systems care approaches and methodologies for maternal, newborn and child health in low- and middle-income countries: a scoping review https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12529736/
3. Experiences of families and health professionals along the care continuum for low-birth weight neonates: A constructivist grounded theory study https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jan.15566

Contact

George Edward Ntow LinkedIn

Christina Schuler LinkedIn

Jessica Honya-Tsiewu Linkedin

In this episode, Mbozu and Shelly-Ann sit down with Dr. Bharati Datta and Dr. Josel Doyle for a conversation that spans four decades and one very full circle moment. Over 40 years ago, Dr. Datta arrived in St. Vincent and the Grenadines from India as the only pediatrician on the island. One of the tiny preterm babies she cared for, weighing barely over a pound at discharge, grew up to become a neonatologist herself. That baby is Dr. Doyle.

Together we explore, Dr. Datta’s journey where she shares what it took to build neonatal care from almost nothing: from working with administration, to working with the mothers who became the original NICU staff,  working towards the Eastern Caribbean's first Baby-Friendly Hospital designation, and the hard-won lessons about ownership, resourcefulness, and community that every clinician working in a low-resource setting needs to hear.

In this episode, Shelly-Ann and Mbozu sit down with a few members of the Parents Neonatal Intensive Care Charity affiliated with the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Barbados. 

Heidi and Andrew Hutchinson, parents of a baby born at 30 weeks who is now a practicing lawyer, share how they transitioned from frightened NICU parents to decades-long advocates. June Walton and Cheryl Walrond, retired NICU nurses, describe building the first parent education sessions and the culture of care that followed. 

What began as a Thursday evening Q&A between overwhelmed parents and NICU nurses in the early 1990s grew into a registered charity that funded system improvements over time. These included  refurbishing  every incubator in the unit, securing  surfactant in the early days before it was on national drug formulary, purchasing a portable X-Ray machine among many other initiatives.

Dr. Naiza Ngowo Monono, the sole pediatrician at Limbe Regional Hospital in Cameroon for nearly a decade, shares how she reduced neonatal mortality to 16 per 1,000—well below the national average. Key interventions included implementing hygiene protocols, training staff on danger sign recognition and neonatal resuscitation, task-shifting responsibilities to nurses and general practitioners, scaling Kangaroo Mother Care, and partnering with UNICEF to train referral hospitals for earlier identification and transfer. Dr. Ngowo Monono emphasizes starting with available resources, building team capacity through mentorship, and maintaining discipline in planning. She advocates for multidisciplinary post-discharge follow-up and improved respiratory care as next priorities for advancing newborn outcomes.

Join hosts Shelly-Ann Dakarai and Mbozu Sipalo as they celebrate two incredible years of the Global Neonatal Podcast! Dive into their journey of global connections, where starting small, embracing teamwork, and learning from diverse neonatal health heroes have been key. A heartfelt thank you to our amazing listeners—your support fuels our passion! We're excited to continue this journey and bring you more inspiring stories from neonatal change makers in 2026.

In this episode, Mbozu and Shelly-Ann are joined by Jean Musonda-Chintende, a critical care nurse and national trainer in advanced newborn care with the Ministry of Health in Zambia. Jean shares her decade-long journey in neonatal intensive care and her leadership in building and mentoring neonatal units across the country.

She discusses the process of setting up special care baby units in hospitals that previously lacked neonatal services, including assessing facility readiness, training staff, and ensuring standardized care through continued mentorship. Jean highlights partnerships with organizations such as UNICEF and Clinton Health Access Initiative that support equipment and training efforts.

The conversation also touches on the challenges of workforce retention, the importance of continuous education for nurses, and the power of recognition in maintaining morale. Jean reflects on her role in Zambia’s historic 2017 conjoined twins separation, how that experience shaped her approach to critical care, and her personal mission to reduce neonatal mortality through training and compassion.

A deeply practical conversation about scaling neonatal care in resource-limited settings and the dedication it takes to make lasting change.