What Can Maternal Health Learn From the Aviation Industry?

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By: Katherine Semrau, Director of the BetterBirth Program at Ariadne Labs, Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School and Associate Epidemiologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital Division of Global Health Equity

The aviation checklist is designed for critical moments in flying, including before takeoff and before landing. Similarly, the World Health Organization (WHO) Safe Childbirth Checklist addresses four critical moments during childbirth: at admission, just before pushing, within one hour of delivery and at facility discharge. The behaviors on the WHO checklist address the biggest causes of mortality in women and newborns and are thus essential practices arising from evidence-based WHO guidelines…read more