New indicator of quality of emergency obstetric and newborn care

Abstract

growth retardation) it would be preferable to restrict the data to babies whose birthweight exceeds 2500 g (or 2000 g in areas where most babies are small). Third, identifi cation of late stillbirths involves examination of the individual admission records for the presence of audible fetal heartbeats at the onset of labour. A more feasible alternative would be the examination of stillborn fetuses for indications of freshness, by absence of signs of maceration. Many programme managers and advisers have expressed interest in using this new indicator in facilities with large numbers of births, either starting data collection from scratch, or using the data available in existing monitoring systems. This letter aims to increase awareness and stimulate collaboration among those interested in testing the new indicator, those willing to share experience, and those having access to data of reasonable quality and quantity. It will also be useful to set up standard values; to exchange lessons learnt, caveats, and results; and to compare data across settings and over time, specially before and after implementation of interventions to improve obstetric care.