Quality of care is a priority for reducing preventable maternal and child deaths. It is also the theme for this year’s International Day of the Midwife; ‘Midwives leading the way with quality care’. 

PerkinElmer, Inc., a global leader committed to innovating for a healthier world, today announced its collaboration with the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO), a not-for-profit, professional association with 130 member organizations that convenes obstetrical and gynecological associations from across the globe. FIGO is dedicated to improving women’s health and reducing disparities in available healthcare to women and newborn babies, along with advancing the science and practice of obstetrics and gynecology.

The Global Alliance for Maternal Mental Health (GAMMH), a coalition of international organisations committed to improving the mental health and wellbeing of women and their children in pregnancy and the first postnatal year (the ‘perinatal period’), launches its website today, on International Women’s Day (8 March).

Health consumer groups have asked for controversial procedures that use the medical intervention to be put on hold after a law firm announced a second class action.

In Australia six state and territory consumer health groups have joined together to oppose the continued use of transvaginal mesh while Slater and Gordon looks into the situation.

A damning report was issued as a result of a Senate inquiry in Australia recently, which puts more pressure on those carrying out procedures with the material.

The current Zika epidemic and the resulting birth defects are the fault of governments that chose to abandon programs aimed at controlling mosquitoes and offering basic family planning assistance to young women.

That is the damning verdict of the World Health Organization (WHO), which warns that the world is not adequately prepared to cope with consequences of a widespread epidemic.

More than 7,000 babies are delivered stillborn every day, new figures reveal.

Over 216 doctors were involved in the Lancet-published study, which saw the analysis of birth data from across the globe, finding that 2.6 million stillborn births occurred in 2015, which equates to around 7,200 each day.

Statistics show that between 2000 and 2015, the global stillbirth rate declined by two per cent from 24.7 in every 1,000 births to 18.4, but there is still some way to go to reach the 2030 target of 12 or fewer per 1,000 set out in the Every Newborn Action Plan.

Maternal mortality rates are falling. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), maternal mortality worldwide decreased by around 44 per cent between 1990 and 2015, with the first aim of SDG3 - part of the UN Sustainable Development Goals - being to reduce the ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030.

However, the WHO admits that maternal mortality remains "unacceptably high", with some 830 women dying from pregnancy or childbirth-related complications worldwide every day.

Babies that are delivered by caesarean section may benefit from being swabbed with fluid from their mothers' vaginas, according to a new study.

Research carried out by doctors at the New York University Langone Medical Center in the US led to the discovery that babies can still benefit from the properties of the microbiomes found in the vagina even if they have been born by c-section, provided that midwives ensure they are swabbed with fluid from this part of the body.

Violence in pregnancy is widely prevalent, and the consequences are life-threatening; but as obstetrician–gynecologists, we have a unique opportunity to assess and provide support for women who experience violence.