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The American Samoa Community College (ASCC) and Yale School of Public Health (YSPH) have signed a memorandum of understanding creating an official partnership.

A new research letter published in JAMA Pediatrics is the first to compare two methodological approaches to neonatal mortality rates side-by-side.

A survey of 15 fathers from American Samoan investigated their views about breastfeeding. The fathers showed strong support for breastfeeding—the best way to feed a child, build the mother-baby bond, save money, and maintain cultural norms. The fathers strongly supported more breastfeeding education for fathers. They emphasised the need for practical advice, rather than information about why breastfeeding is important (which they understood already).

Samoa should develop a national breastfeeding policy and ratify international maternity protections to better support women with newborns, says a public health specialist. The United Nations reports 81 per cent of Samoa’s babies are being breastfed from birth, and seven in 10 are being exclusively breastfed for their first six months, which are results to be commended. But the remaining 19 per cent of babies need to be addressed, and Christina Soti-Ulberg believes both national and international plans could go a long way to improve the situation.

Samoa is performing better than the regional average in breastfeeding children from an early age through until 23 months, a new child’s nutrition report has found.

After a year of researching barriers to primary health care on a Fulbright Scholarship with the Ministry of Health, Samoan Californian Trevor Anesi is going back to the United States to continue his medical training. He said being in Samoa meant he met family he'd never met before, a deeper connection with his roots, and importantly: a chance to see his own people in leadership roles: a not so common sight in his home of the USA.

Kate Tana, a 5-year BA/MPH student won two student awards at the Human Biology Association meetings.

Nicola Hawley, Ph.D., describes how a chance encounter led to her work in Samoa.

To encourage pregnant women to show up for their medical check-ups and to make the process less of a burden for mothers-to-be, the LBJ Medical Center has come up with a program that'll provide, among other things, nutrition education and caring for the infant.