The World Health Organization in collaboration with partners around the world has developed an interim version of the second edition of the Essential Newborn Care Course (ENCC). The material provides the foundation for the essential care of every newborn: immediate care at birth, resuscitation when needed, breast milk feeding, thermal care, prevention of infection, recognition and response to danger signs. This course is part of a set of resources for improving care of newborns, such as WHO Human Resource Strategies for improving neonatal care, WHO standards for improving the quality of care for maternal and newborn health, small and sick newborns in health facilities.

What is new in the second edition?

The second edition of ENCC is competency-based and has many new features with flexibility to be used for both in-service and pre-service settings, and different course options. 

• The course is aligned with WHO quality standards for maternal and newborn health, small and sick newborns care, with focus on the rights of newborns, nurturing care, Point of Care Quality Improvement (POCQI) , and strengthened links to care in the community. 
• Educational methodologies incorporate active learning and structured simulations. 
• The materials integrate existing newborn courses from around the world such as WHO Early Essential Newborn Care coaching, as well as Helping Babies Breathe and Helping Babies Survive, which have been updated and aligned with WHO guidelines. 
• Is part of a set of resources for improving the care of newborns, such as WHO Human Resource Strategies for improving newborn care health facilities and WHO Standards.
• The course materials encourage collection, analysis and use of data in quality improvement activities focused on essential newborn care.

Flexible ENC Course options

There are three course options for ENCC:

• The Basic course
• The Modular course
• The combination of both.

The Basic course is made up of part 1(that is, ENC 1 focuses on essential newborn care from birth to 60 minutes after birth) and part 2 (that is, ENC 2, focuses on care between 60 to 90 minutes after birth and beyond). These basic courses incorporate the Helping Babies Breathe, Essential Care for Every Baby and Essential Care for Small Babies course by updating and aligning them with the WHO recommendations and quality standards in collaboration with the American Academy of Pediatrics, Laerdal Global Health and WHO Collaborating Centre for Maternal & Child Health (Istituto per l’Infanzia IRCCS Burlo Garofolo). The Modular course covers the same topics as the Basic courses, more in-depth. It is made up of 14 modules that include nurturing care, and additional practical sessions and simulations, and 1 module for facilitators.

For any queries about the course, additional information or guidance not covered in FAQs, please contact:

Please use ENCC Interim second edition in the subject line.