Developing skills for delivery and maternity care

This issue of Safe Motherhood looks at training for safe motherhood, concentrating on how to ensure that birth attendants and health care providers have the necessary skills to save life and ensure safe delivery. WHO believes that to achieve safe motherhood, training programs for all those providing health services to women--from the obstetrician to the traditional birth attendant--should receive attention. In order to encourage new thinking on training for maternal health, WHO is involved in initiatives with both governments and key international associations and agencies in many countries. The Special Feature's Ideas for Change includes examples of some of the more inspirational training initiatives such as giving skills to Chinese village doctors to manage postpartum hemorrhage, the team approach to solving the problems of district maternal health care in Uganda, and the success of a project in Mozambique which trains surgical technicians to undertake cesarean sections.