In his 1991 article Screening for Congenital Hypothyroidism, Delbert A. Fisher in the US reported on the implementation and impact of mass neonatal screening programs for congenital hypothyroidism (CH) from the early 1970s through 1991. CH is a condition that causes stunted mental and physical development in newborns unless treatment begins within the first three months of the newborn's life. In the early 1970s, regions in Canada and the US had implemented screening programs to diagnose and treat CH as quickly as possible after the infant's birth. By 1991 many other countries had adopted the early screening program, and Fisher estimated that 10 to 12 million newborns per year were tested in the early 1990s. The screening programs, along with physician education and improved screening techniques, such as radioimmunoassay, helped significantly reduce the incidence of abnormal newborn development resulting from untreated congenital hypothyroidism.

In 2008, the Palestinian Ministry of Health published the Mother and Child Health Handbook, herafter the Handbook, to help improve health outcomes for pregnant women in the West Bank and Gaza, Palestine. The Handbook is a portable health record and information booklet that women can use to record and track health information from pregnancy through early childhood and across health providers. It includes templates for recording health data as well as information on proper growth milestones and healthy lifestyle choices. Each woman receives one Handbook during her pregnancy. Development of the Handbook occurred during a time when pregnant women were unable to access health facilities or receive necessary care due to regional conflicts. Since the Palestinian Ministry of Health began distributing the Handbook in Palestine in 2008, maternal and infant mortality rates have diminished around 46% and 35%, respectively, supporting the idea that providing women with basic prenatal and postnatal health information is an effective intervention for improving maternal and infant health.