Harvard Public Health

Between 2014-2016, Researchers from Ariadne Labs ran an ambitious trial to see if a simple checklist could improve childbirth care and prevent deaths in one of India’s poorest states. The randomized study of 300,000 women in Uttar Pradesh was one of the largest maternal health trials ever. Both the stakes and hopes were high; globally, 300,000 women a year die around the time of childbirth and five million newborns die as stillborn or in their first month of life. But the results of the study were mixed—what researchers call a "null" result. While the checklist improved the quality of care during labor and delivery, it did not reduce death rates. In this week's episode, we speak to Katherine Semrau, director of the BetterBirth program at Ariadne Labs and the lead author of the study, about why that “null” result can actually teach us a great deal about strategies to improve maternal health—and the way public health research is conducted.