The primary audience for these recommendations includes health professionals who are responsible for developing national and local health-care guidelines and protocols and health workers involved in the provision of care to women and their newborns during pregnancy, labour and childbirth; this includes m...
A paucity of scientific evidence exists on how to best treat pregnant or breastfeeding women with suspected or confirmed Ebola virus disease (EVD). Historical reports suggest that, among women who acquire EVD during pregnancy, there is increased mortality and morbidity, and a near 100% rate of adverse pr...
The Democratic Republic of Congo is currently experiencing the second largest Ebola
outbreak in history, following a 2014-2016 outbreak in western Africa that had an estimated 28,000 cases. Investigational treatment and vaccination trials are ongoing, but data in the context of pregnancy and breastfeedin...
The World Health Organization’s comprehensive antenatal care (ANC) guideline WHO recommendations on antenatal care for a positive pregnancy experience was first published in 2016 with the objective of improving the quality of routine health care that all women and adolescent girls receive during pregna...
This updated recommendation is relevant to all pregnant women and adolescent girls receiving comprehensive antenatal care (ANC) in any healthcare facility or community-based setting, and to their unborn fetuses and newborns. The question was prioritized during the ANC guideline development process. In 20...
A home-based record is a health document used to record the history of health services received by an individual. It is kept in the household, in either paper or electronic format, by the individual or their caregiver and is intended to be integrated into the health information system and complement reco...
This report summarizes the final recommendation and the process for developing the guideline on the effectiveness of community mobilization through facilitated participatory learning and action cycles with women’s groups for maternal and newborn health. The primary audience for this guideline is health...
Member States have requested guidance from WHO on the effects of late cord clamping for improving maternal and infant nutrition and health, as a public health strategy in support of their efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, as well as the global targets set in the Comprehensive implement...
The World Health Organization’s recommendations on optimizing the roles of health workers aim to help address critical health workforce shortages that slow down progress towards the health-related Millennium Development Goals. A more rational distribution of tasks and responsibilities among cadres of h...
The first hours, days and weeks after childbirth are a dangerous time for both mother and newborn
infant. Among the more than 500 000 women who die each year due to complications of pregnancy
and childbirth (1), most deaths occur during or immediately after childbirth (2). Every year three
million infant...
