Pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum and newborn care: a guide for essential practice (3rd edition) (PCPNC), has been updated to include recommendations from recently approved WHO guidelines relevant to maternal and perinatal health. These include pre-eclampsia & eclampsia; postpartum haemorrhage; postnatal care for the mother and baby; newborn resuscitation; prevention of mother-to- child transmission of HIV; HIV and infant feeding; malaria in pregnancy, interventions to improve preterm birth outcomes, tobacco use and second-hand exposure in pregnancy, post-partum depression, post-partum family planning and post abortion care.

The aim of PCPNC is to provide evidence-based recommendations to guide health care professionals in the management of women during pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum, and newborns, and post abortion, including management of endemic diseases like malaria, HIV/AIDS, TB and anaemia.

The PCPNC is a guide for clinical decision-making. All recommendations are for skilled attendants working at the primary level of health care, either at the facility or in the community. They apply to all women attending antenatal care, in delivery, postpartum or post abortion care, or who come for emergency care, and to all newborns at birth for routine and emergency care.