Antenatal care

WHO recommendation on caffeine intake during pregnancy

For pregnant women with high daily caffeine intake (more than 300 mg per day), lowering daily caffeine intake during pregnancy is recommended to reduce the risk of pregnancy loss and low-birth-weight neonates.

Financial arrangements

Paying for performance to improve the delivery of health interventions in low- and middle-income countries

Paying health-care workers for higher performance is a complex intervention that has been suggested to improve public health goals. This review assesses the current evidence for the effects of paying for performance on the provision of health-care services and health outcomes in low- and middle-...

Disorders affecting the unborn baby

Fetal assessment methods for improving neonatal and maternal outcomes in preterm prelabour rupture of membranes

Key Findings: Overall, trials showed few statistically significant improvements in maternal, fetal or neonatal outcomes. There was a non-statistically significant increase in the risk of neonatal death in the intervention groups of endovaginal ultrasound and amniocentesis for fetal lung surfactant...

Care during childbirth

WHO recommendation on intermittent fetal heart rate auscultation during labour

Recommendation Intermittent auscultation of the fetal heart rate with either a Doppler ultrasound device or a Pinard fetal stethoscope is recommended for healthy pregnant women in labour. (Recommended) Publication history First published: February 2018 Updated: No update planned Assessed as up-to-...

Care during childbirth

WHO recommendation on effective communication between maternity care providers and women in labour

Effective communication between maternity care providers and women in labour, using simple and culturally acceptable methods, is recommended.