Woman and Labor
by World Health Organization. Department of Making Pregnancy Safer, World Health Organization
Category: Medical

The main aim of this practical Handbook is to strengthen counselling and communication skills of skilled attendants (SAs) and other health providers, helping them to effectively discuss with women, families and communities the key issues surrounding pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum, postnatal and post-abortion care. The MNH Counselling Handbook is chiefly designed to be used by groups of SAs with the help of a facilitator. It can also be used by individual SAs who can get together with colleagues for discussions and activities where needed. It relies on a self-directed learning approach, allowing SAs to work at their own pace, drawing on their past counselling experience. The way it is used will be determined by each country s context, and the SAs preference. The MNH Counselling Handbook is divided into three main sections. Part 1 is an introduction which describes the aims and objectives and the general layout of the Handbook. Part 2 describes the counselling process and outlines the six key steps to effective counselling. It explores the counselling context and factors that influence this context including the socio-economic, gender, and cultural environment. A series of guiding principles is introduced and specific counselling skills are outlined. Part 3 focuses on different maternal and newborn health topics, including general care in the home during pregnancy; birth and emergency planning; danger signs in pregnancy; post-abortion care; support during labour; postnatal care of the mother and newborn; family planning counselling; breastfeeding; women with HIV/AIDS; death and bereavement; women and violence; linking with the community. Each Session contains specific aims and objectives, clearly outlining the skills that will be developed and corresponding learning outcomes. Practical activities have been designed to encourage reflection, provoke discussions, build skills and ensure the local relevance of information. There is a review at the end of each session to ensure the SAs have understood the key points before they progress to subsequent sessions.