Safe Childbirth Checklist: Learning from Implementation

Every day, more than 800 women and 7,000 babies die around the time of childbirth worldwide, while thousands more suffer life-threatening and lifelong complications. The vast majority of these deaths are preventable when proven essential birth practices are followed. The World Health Organization (WHO) Safe Childbirth Checklist brings these practices together in one 28-item tool designed for use in facility-based labor and delivery.

In August 2017, Ariadne Labs and the WHO convened the first global meeting on implementation of the Safe Childbirth Checklist. Clinicians and maternal health champions who have implemented the Checklist in 12 countries came together in Colombo, Sri Lanka, for the Interregional Technical Consultation: Learning from the Implementation of WHO Safe Childbirth Checklist.

During the meeting, participants shared strategies and lessons learned from their Checklist implementation. They discussed how implementation of the Checklist changed their own practice and improved the quality of care at their facilities. Watch the video below to hear how the Checklist has become a critical component of a quality improvement initiative that brings better care to women and babies during childbirth.