Skilled attendants
A skilled attendant is a health professional−such as a midwife, doctor or nurse−who has been educated and trained to proficiency in the skills needed to manage normal (uncomplicated) pregnancies, childbirth and the immediate postnatal period, and in the identification, management and referral of complications in women and newborns.1
Related publications
Making Pregnancy Safer
The critical role of the skilled attendant
Full text [pdf 392kb]
Global action for skilled attendants for pregnant woman
WHO is calling for a global movement to ensure that every pregnant woman and her newborn has access to a skilled attendant.
Full text
Statistics
Nationally representative data of births attended by skilled health workers available up to 2004 and include global, regional and subregional estimates.
2005 global estimates
Investing in skilled care
A recent study into how Malaysia and Sri Lanka have reduced their death toll shows that sustained, long-term investment is required to make skilled care available to pregnant women and newborns.
Maternal mortality is a matter of long-term public health, as opposed to disease and so we need an approach which is different from the way we tackle disease. There is no quick or simple 'solution'; what's needed is a wide-ranging, holistic approach, with fundamental changes in perceptions. For no country can build human development and reduce poverty without establishing a robust health system which makes maternal health a priority.
But many countries have yet to make skilled attendants a priority. WHO is working with these countries to identify key health workers, to upgrade their skills where necessary and to make sure they are meeting women's needs by providing the most effective-and considerate-care.
Skilled care not only saves mothers' and babies' lives. By respecting their emotional and spiritual - as well as physical - needs, by providing information and choice, skilled care also empowers women, with the 'added value' of encouraging them to seek further professional care.
1Definition endorsed by: WHO, UNFPA, World Bank, the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) and the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO)
|
