The Global Maternal Newborn Healthcare Conference in Mexico exceeds expectations in every way!

"We talked about it internally, but we don't think we have the resources to travel to Mexico." I wrote to a small NGO in India with a totally different target population: middle-class women in Delhi who were subjected to over-intervention in maternity care, rather than the most marginalised communities who were dying for lack of access to treatment.

My reservations were immediately dispelled during the Welcome Event. Geeta Rao Gupta's stirring address showed me the value of investing in the most difficult-to-reach groups because they yield the best returns.

"Collaboration is hard, but you do it because of the power of collective action," Melinda Gates said during the opening ceremony, and "when health improves, lives improve by every measure." I learned from Babatunde Osotimehin that "access to family planning is required for adolescent females to go to and stay in school." Finally, Hans Rosling urged us to take an evidence-based approach to the world, abandon irresponsible structural prejudice, and applaud national triumphs!

In the first panel, I heard about how forward-thinking companies were using mobile technologies to make a big impact. Aparna Hegde's mMitra platform was providing prenatal and baby care to mothers in Mumbai's urban slums for only $5 for two years!

In another panel, I learnt about how Centering Pregnancy, a type of group antenatal care, was being spread across impoverished countries from Malawi to Nepal, with the goal of enhancing health care quality, encouraging interactive learning, and strengthening communities.

My organization's path of minimising Caesarean sections was presented on a panel that addressed initiatives to preserve proper Caesarean section rates and delivery. Paulo Borem was on the panel, and he is presently working with 42 hospitals in Brazil to reduce the Caesarean rate from its current level of 80% - a percentage that is not dissimilar to our own situation 15 years ago!

Attendees arrived from 75 different nations, and some of the most beneficial exchanges took place during meals and coffee breaks. As we prepare to begin our own journey of training midwives in Delhi, seeing Dr. Shershah Syed describe his hospital in Karachi as being led by midwives was a wonderful motivation. Moses Kitheka from Kenya and Cyril Dim from Nigeria were both from nations I had never visited before, so I enjoyed conversing with them. I was particularly thankful for the chance to chat with Prof Joanna Schellenberg of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine about our interest in working together on student thesis projects in Delhi. Meeting Drs. Mathews Mathai of the WHO and Harshad Sanghvi of JHPIIEGO and presenting the results of our maternity survey in Delhi with them was another highlight.

While I appreciated the opportunity to attend the gathering, some people grumbled that it was an exercise in preaching to the converted. They had a point - many people who may have benefited from the meeting, such as obstetricians in private and government practise, appeared to be underrepresented. I'm curious if future sessions may focus on "early adopters" from underrepresented groups as a tactic for enhancing influence.

Overall, the GMNHC met all of my expectations for a fantastic meeting: I learned new things, made new connections, and was encouraged to do my part to make the world a better place. "Next time at GMNHC, we'll hear how you advanced as a result of networks built here," Ana Langer said as the meeting came to a conclusion - I hope we'll all have stories to share!