WHO Safe Childbirth Checklist

WHO is the acronym for the World Health Organisation, which functions under the UN (United Nations). As the name suggests, this organization functions to promote and ensure fit and sound health within its member countries and general promotion of sound health around the globe. One of the important aspects of WHO is natality (childbirth) which focuses on giving safe and sound birth to the child while ensuring great health to both the mother and the child.

What is a safe childbirth checklist?
In response to various unacceptable mishaps, the WHO Safe Childbirth Checklist has been developed to aid the essential supply of maternal and perinatal care practices. It also includes the procedure, the pregnancy period, and post-pregnancy reports to determine whether the child is healthy or not, if not what were the factors and what is the probability of that happening to prevent future mishaps.

Around 130 million childbirth takes place everywhere, however, unfortunately, around 300,000 of this childbirth result in the death of the mother, 2.6 million results in stillbirths(dead fetus), and 2.7 million results in the death of the fetus during the first-month post-childbirth. The WHO results indicate that most of these deaths occur in low resource areas and most of them could have been prevented.

Steps were taken by WHO
Safe childbirth checklist was thus founded by the WHO which regulates the numbers and ensures that this unacceptable situation is taken under control, by providing resources and carrying out proper maternal practices. The Checklist addresses the major causes of maternal death such as haemorrhage, infection, obstructed labour and hypertensive disorders, intrapartum-related stillbirths (inadequate intrapartum care), and neonatal deaths, meaning, birth asphyxia, infection, and complications related to prematurity.

An implementation guide was also realized officially by the WHO to maximize the propagation of these numbers, steps, and practices to prevent any mishaps and ensure maximum healthy childbirth, both pre and post maternal health.

Over to you:
Every year among 130 million childbirths, about 5.3 million childbirths result in death from stillbirth to 1st month, also, 303,000 mothers die during delivery. This is some serious unacceptable conditions, to prevent such conditions WHO founded the sage childbirth checklist.