Maternal and Perinatal Health in Developing Countries

Every day, almost a thousand women die as a result of the complications of pregnancy or childbirth, with the overwhelming majority of these deaths occurring in developing countries. Global and regional initiatives are needed to improve the systems and practices involved in maternal care and medical access.

This book aims to improve the implementation of maternal and perinatal health programmes in developing countries. It covers the background and concepts underlying efforts to improve maternal and perinatal mortality, includes case studies and examples of successful strategies, recommends good practices and provides a critical analysis of knowledge gaps, targeting a diverse audience of public health practitioners, policy makers and development agencies.

The first five chapters provide a background on the global setting and concepts underlying international efforts to improve maternal and perinatal health. The second section brings together the main elements of maternal health programmes at a country level: the underlying health system and financial aspects; specific interventions to manage conditions that affect maternal and perinatal health; the means to improve availability, accessibility, demand for and quality of care; and the crucial foundation of monitoring, evaluation and research within programmes. The special circumstances of conflict and emergency situations are included.