Pocket book of hospital care for mothers

Overview

There has been a signifi cant decline in maternal mortality in Member States of the WHO South-East Asia Region over the past two decades. In comparison with 1990, there were 149,000 fewer maternal deaths in 2015 – an unprecedented feat in maternal survival in the history of the Region. Despite this sharp reduction by 69 per cent, maternal mortality continues to be high in many Member States. To accelerate further reductions in maternal mortality, ‘Ending preventable maternal, newborn and child deaths with focus on neonatal deaths’ in 2014 was declared one of the eight Flagship Priorities for the WHO South-East Asia Region.

The Pocket Book of Hospital Care for Mothers: Guidelines for Management of Common Maternal Conditions, brought out by the World Health Organization’s Regional Offi ce for South-East Asia, is a fi rst-of-its-kind compilation of updated WHO guidelines for the treatment recommendations, management of pregnancy and common pregnancy-related or associated complications and diseases at the fi rst referral-level hospitals. It presents relevant, up-to-date, evidence-based clinical guidelines that can be used by clinicians in their daily work in hospitals. An expert group at the regional level was convened to review available updated WHO guidelines on maternal and newborn health for compilation of this Pocket Book.