Community obstetrics in an urban situation

The majority of the world's population is of poor economic status, and this is commonly associated with high fertility levels and high infant mortality and morbidity. This population can be divided into two main groups: those in over-populated urban areas and those in scattered rural areas. Both groups have their peculiar problems and comprehensive maternal and child health is a formidable task. This paper is an account of the obstetric services in an urban population in the municipality of Salisbury, Rhodesia, where there is close co-operation between hospital and municipal authorities and all high-risk maternity patients are delivered in hospital and low-risk ones in municipal maternity units. Methods of selection of patients and results obtained are shown.