Global patterns in availability of emergency obstetric care

Area of Science:

• Obstetrics and Gynecology
• Public Health
• Global Health

Background:

• Direct obstetric complications require timely and appropriate interventions.
• Emergency obstetric care (EmOC) is categorized into basic (six interventions) and comprehensive (eight interventions).
• Assessing intervention availability is key to understanding a country's capacity for managing obstetric emergencies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the global availability of basic and comprehensive emergency obstetric care (EmOC).
• To identify patterns in the provision of EmOC interventions within health facilities.
• To highlight the gap between potential and actual EmOC service delivery.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of data from 24 needs assessments globally.
• Evaluation of the availability of key interventions defining basic and comprehensive EmOC.
• Comparison of facility availability against recommended minimums for population size.

Main Results:

• Comprehensive EmOC facilities are generally available in sufficient numbers.
• Basic EmOC facilities are consistently insufficient in both high and moderate maternal mortality countries.
• Most facilities offer only some interventions, indicating underutilized potential for maternal care.

Conclusions:

• Upgrading facilities to at least basic EmOC status is a vital step for maternal mortality reduction.
• Addressing the deficit in basic EmOC is critical for improving maternal health outcomes in resource-poor countries.
• Enhancing EmOC provision can significantly contribute to achieving global maternal health goals.