Maternal sepsis is a life-threatening condition caused by an infection during pregnancy, childbirth, post-abortion, or the postpartum period. It is the third leading cause of maternal mortality worldwide and a significant contributor to overall sepsis-related deaths. In addition to posing severe risks to the mother, maternal infections and sepsis can lead to neonatal infections and other adverse neonatal outcomes.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has previously published the WHO recommendations for prevention and treatment of maternal peripartum infections. The primary objective of WHO’s recommendations is to provide a foundation for the strategic policy and programme development needed for sustainable implementation of effective interventions for improving provision and uptake of quality antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal care for all women and newborns.
Efforts to reduce maternal and neonatal sepsis are critical to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and implementing global health initiatives. With a view towards promoting the best-known clinical practices in labour and childbirth, and improving maternal and newborn outcomes worldwide, including for the prevention of peripartum infections, WHO will review the evidence for a recommendation related to Antibiotic prophylaxis during labour for vaginal birth. The development of this new recommendation has been prioritized.
A Guideline Development Group (GDG) meeting will be held on 9–10 April 2025 to review the evidence base on this recommendation. In keeping with the requirements of the WHO Guidelines Review Committee and the WHO Compliance, Risk Management and Ethics Office, we are posting online short biographies of the GDG members. The listed candidates have also submitted a Declaration of Interest form stating any conflict of interests. WHO has applied its internal processes to ensure that the performance of the above tasks by members of this group will be transparent and without any significant conflict of interests (academic, financial, or other) that could affect the credibility of the guideline.
Nevertheless, WHO invites the general public to review the experts and stakeholders involved and provide feedback regarding any member deemed to have a significant conflict of interest with respect to the terms of reference for this group. Comments and feedback should be cordial and constructive, and sent to srhmph@who.int.
This WHO normative meeting is by invitation only.
NOTE:
The GDG members are participating in the meeting on their invidual capacity. Affiliations are presented only as a reference. The participation of experts in a WHO meeting does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by WHO nor does it create a binding relationship between the experts and WHO. The biographies have been provided by the experts themselves and are the sole responsibility of the inpiduals concerned. WHO is not responsible for the accuracy, veracity and completeness of the information provided. In accordance with WHO conflict of interest assessment policy, expert’s biographies are published for transparency purposes. Comments and perceptions are brought to the knowledge of WHO through the public notice and comment process.
Comments sent to WHO are treated confidentially and their receipt will be acknowledged through a generic email notification to the sender. Please send any comments to the following email: srhmph@who.int. WHO reserves the right to discuss information received through this process with the relevant expert with no attribution to the provider of such information. Upon review and assessment of the information received through this process, WHO, in its sole discretion, may take appropriate management of conflicts of interests in accordance with its policies.