Preeclampsia is a leading cause of maternal deaths and stillbirths; hypertensive disorders of pregnancy are the second leading cause of death globally, after haemorrhage. It is estimated that 10 million women develop pre-eclampsia each year. A recent review of 15 guidelines from 11 organizations, including the World Health Organization (WHO), shows divergence in the definition of preeclampsia, and no uniform consensus on methods and devices for assessment. The evidence base behind the different guidance is also unclear.
The WHO Department of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing, in collaboration with the WHO Department of Data and Analytics and with Unitaid, is convening a meeting with representatives of ministries of health, the principal clinical guideline organizations and other implementing partners to discuss the divergence and arrive at a consensus definition. The meeting will be held on 1 and 2 July 2025 at the Global Health Campus in Geneva, Switzerland.
The specific objectives of the meeting are:
- to review the different definitions and diagnostic criteria for pre-eclampsia
- to discuss the feasibility of diagnostic criteria for pre-eclampsia and operational opportunities from the perspective of country stakeholders
- to define steps to finalize a global definition of pre-eclampsia
- to identify key opportunities and challenges for strengthening pre-eclampsia diagnosis and next steps for implementation.
We have engaged an expert review group to join in the discussions. The participants were chosen by WHO technical staff including country maternal health programme managers and researchers with relevant technical expertise The members of the expert review group are not commissioned and do not receive any financial compensation. In line with WHO policy on conflict of interest, members of the public and interested organizations can access the biographies of the expert group.