Key messages

Women in pregnancy and around the time of childbirth

• Attend all appointments during pregnancy and after childbirth for you and your baby
• Be actively involved in your own care and the care of your baby 
• Communicate openly with your health care team and feel free to ask questions and raise concerns, if any, about you or your baby
• Secure support from a birth companion of your choice for childbirth, if you wish
• Prepare mentally and physically for childbirth and the first few days after birth

Spouses or partners, families and communities

• Support your spouse or partner during pregnancy and around the time of childbirth
• Speak up for the rights of your loved ones to safe and respectful care during pregnancy and after childbirth
• Follow safety precautions for COVID-19 and other public health hazards in the community and when you visit your health care facility
• Get involved in community initiatives to support mothers, newborns and health workers
• Play an active role and work with policy-makers to establish safer maternal and newborn services

Health workers

• Strive to make childbirth a positive experience for all women and newborns by providing safe and quality care
• Build trust and, engage and empower women in decision-making during childbirth
• Apply safety measures during pregnancy, childbirth and the immediate postnatal period, such as medication safety, surgical safety, blood safety, radiation safety, medical device safety, sanitation, and infection prevention
• Speak to your supervisor or colleague if you have concerns about the safety of childbirth or if a mother or baby is mistreated
• Work together with your team members: strong teams lead to safer births

Health care leaders and facility managers

• Invest in health worker safety, well-being, capacity and supportive supervision as a priority for safety in health care
• Establish a safety culture in which health workers are not afraid to speak up about safety concerns as a basis for systems improvement
• Promote an environment for childbirth that involves women in shared decision-making, maintaining their dignity, privacy and confidentiality, and preventing mistreatment
• Ensure all births are attended by skilled birth personnel and encourage the presence of a birth companion of a woman’s choice
• Establish adequate infrastructure, including water and electricity, and provide sufficient supplies for sanitation and infection prevention and control 

Policy-makers and programme managers

• Invest in health systems: allocate sufficient resources for equitable access to safe and quality maternal and newborn health services
• Build a competent and sufficient health workforce, supported by a safe and enabling work environment
• Establish mechanisms to engage women, families, communities, health professional associations and civil society to establish safer maternal and newborn health services
• Develop and implement up-to-date guidance on safe and respectful childbirth
• Establish reporting and learning systems to guide improvements in maternal and neonatal care