Invisible pursuit: global policy guidance on care of vulnerable infants under 6 months and their mothers, a scoping review

Many infants are born vulnerable or become so in the first six months of life. These infants are at greater risk of poor growth and development, long-term ill-health and increased mortality. The wellbeing of infants is intimately connected with that of their mother, and so is their care. There is a need for comprehensive and respectful person-centred care for vulnerable infants under six months (u6m) and their mothers. However, care is complex, and becomes complicated at service level, since it involves multiple disciplines across health, nutrition and social services that play out in the policy environment.

To maximise time-sensitive opportunities that currently exist for greater policy guidance, this scoping review investigated the nature and coherence of global policy guidance relevant to the care of vulnerable infants u6m and their mothers. We used the MAMI Care Pathway (an integrated care pathway approach) as a guiding framework to appraise how, for whom, and to what extent policy guidance supports person-centred continuity of care for vulnerable infants u6m and their mothers.

An online repository of collated priority guidance​ is available.