Standards for Improving Quality of Maternal and Newborn Care in Health Facilities

Much progress has been made during the past two decades in coverage of births in health facilities; however, reductions in maternal and neonatal mortality remain slow. With increasing numbers of births in health facilities, attention has shifted to the quality of care, as poor quality of care contributes to morbidity and mortality. The period around childbirth is the most critical for saving the maximum number of maternal and newborn lives and preventing stillbirths. WHO sees a future in which “Every pregnant woman and newborn receives high-quality care throughout pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period”. To realize this vision, WHO has defined “quality of care” and has prepared a framework for improving the quality of care for mothers and newborns around the time of childbirth.

The framework contains eight domains of quality of care that should be assessed, improved and monitored within the health system. The health system provides the structure for access to high-quality care in the two important, inter-linked dimensions of provision and experience of care.