The World Health Organization Safe Childbirth Checklist on Essential Birth Practices and Perinatal Mortality

Is the World Health Organization (WHO) Safe Childbirth Checklist associated with evidence-based practices (EBPs) and mortality?In this meta-analysis, encompassing more than 6000 standardized observations and health data from birth registries on more than 160 000 mother-newborn pairs across India, Indonesia, and Pakistan, adherence to EBPs increased by 24 percentage points with the use of the WHO Safe Childbirth Checklist. Although no difference in mortality was detected in the full sample, stillbirth rates were 9.76 per 1000 births lower when checklist use was observed.The WHO Safe Childbirth Checklist was associated with increased application of EBPs and lower stillbirth rates when implemented in settings that enable compliance with the checklist.

Corresponding Authors: Katherine Semrau, PhD, MPH, Ariadne Labs, 401 Park Dr, Third Floor E, Boston, MA 02215 (ksemrau@ariadnelabs.org); Sebastian Vollmer, PhD, University of Göttingen, Waldweg 26, 37073 Göttingen, Germany (svollmer@uni-goettingen.de).

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