Background and Definitions History
Historically, many safe motherhood programs that emphasized identifying high risk
pregnancies and training traditional birth attendants have achieved limited success. This has caused the global community to develop a new focus on the management of complications and emergencies. Preventive interventions (e.g., active management of the third stage of labor, intermittent preventive treatment for malaria, prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, and birth planning) are essential to reduce maternal and newborn mortality. But safe motherhood programs must also ensure that complications are rapidly detected and that emergency obstetric and newborn care is accessible to women and newborns when and where it is needed. Highlights Rather than investing in predicting which women or newborns will have life-threatening complications, maternal mortality reduction programs should recognize the principle that every pregnant woman and newborn baby is at risk for life-threatening emergencies.
The Place of EmONC Within Essential Obstetric and Newborn Care