Maternal & Newborn Atlas
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Postnatal care for the mother

The care a woman gets in the weeks after giving birth. WHO recommends regular checks of bleeding, temperature and pulse from the first hour after birth, with blood pressure measured shortly after birth, and a minimum of four contacts for healthy women and newborns, the first within 24 hours of birth and the last in the sixth week. MedlinePlus says spotting or bleeding can come and go for up to six weeks and that extreme sadness may be postpartum depression.

  • Care topic
  • In this atlas

Overview

Technical summary

Hub for postnatal care in this atlas. It holds the recommendations of WHO's 2022 postnatal guideline as claims (the schedule of contacts, facility stay, assessment of the woman, discharge criteria, home visits and newborn danger signs) and the care pathway built from them. WHO's remarks say epidemiological data show that deaths of mothers and of newborns are most common in the first three days after birth, with another rise in the second week. Other postnatal guidance is limited to an identity-only reference record for a 2018 US committee opinion on postpartum care; UK national postnatal guidance is not recorded because the publisher's website is not fetched by this project. Source for the plain text on bleeding and mood: the MedlinePlus Postpartum Care topic, read on 2026-10-15.

Scope

Care for the mother in the weeks after birth, with the newborn contacts that WHO schedules alongside it.

Life stages
  • Postpartum
Care setting
Not reported

Claims and evidence

Context All postpartum women, WHO 2022 assessment recommendation

Recipient
Maternal
Population
All women after birth. The recommendation sets checks in the first 24 hours (bleeding, uterine tone, fundal height, temperature, pulse, blood pressure and urine) and topics to ask about at later contacts.
Care setting
Facility- or community-based postnatal care
Geography
Global (WHO guidance)
Life stage
The first 24 hours after birth, and each later postnatal contact
Gestational age
Not reported
Postnatal age
Not reported
Follow-up
Not applicable: guideline recommendation
Eligibility: 1 inclusion criterion; 1 exclusion criterion
Included
  • All postpartum women
Excluded
  • Not stated in the source

  • Recommendation Guidance Certainty not assessed

    WHO recommends regular checks of every postpartum woman, starting in the first hour after birth and continuing through the first day: vaginal bleeding, uterine tone, fundal height, temperature and pulse. Blood pressure should be measured soon after birth and, if normal, again within 6 hours, and the urine void should be documented by the 6-hour mark. At later contacts WHO says to keep asking about general well-being and to check on urination and incontinence, bowel function, how any perineal wound is healing, headache, tiredness, back pain, perineal pain and hygiene, breast pain, uterine tenderness and lochia. WHO gives this the category Recommended.

    Applies to Maternal
    • All women after birth. The recommendation sets checks in the first 24 hours (bleeding, uterine tone, fundal height, temperature, pulse, blood pressure and urine) and topics to ask about at later contacts.
    • Facility- or community-based postnatal care
    • Global (WHO guidance)
    • The first 24 hours after birth, and each later postnatal contact
    • Gestational age Not reported
    • Postnatal age Not reported
    Follow-up Not applicable: guideline recommendation
    Certainty method
    Not assessed
    Limitations
    WHO adapted and integrated this recommendation from its 2014 postnatal care recommendations; the original rested on consensus of the guideline group based on existing WHO guidelines. The recommendation gives no blood pressure threshold or target. The recommendation text was read from the English PDF.
    Last checked
    2026-10-15
    Next evidence check due
    Not scheduled
    Sources and citations (2)

    1. Supports WHO recommendations on maternal and newborn care for a positive postnatal experience

      Guideline · World Health Organization · Edition First edition, 2022. The date is the who.int page date, 30 March 2022, which the atlas uses for WHO sources and decisions; the WHO IRIS record 10665/352658 lists an issue date of 2022-03-29 for the same document. The English PDF was read from IRIS (bitstream 73dec697-c033-449c-8323-1cd04a8d8f20). The who.int page lists a corrigendum dated 26 May 2022 beside the web supplement on the evidence base (ISBN 978-92-4-004617-7), not beside the guideline; the corrigendum (mk-who-9789240046177-corrigendum.pdf) changes one source citation on page 93 of that supplement, and the supplement was not read. · Published 2022-03-30 · ISBN: 978-92-4-004598-9

      Locator
      Recommendation 1, Chapter 3, A.1.1
      How it applies
      WHO guideline PDF (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO); short quotation.
      Retrieved
      Source effective date
      Not reported
      Source state
      Current
      Snapshot hash
      f4cbef197fdf40d33e1c53987ba6f4e099265fe0d867724c8c2e4fb91051a071
      Reuse basis
      Licensed CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO, as stated in the IRIS record (dc.rights.uri https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/igo). Only short quotations with attribution are used, and neither the PDF nor the pages are committed. The non-commercial and share-alike terms need a licensing decision before any text is adapted.

    2. Background WHO recommendations on maternal and newborn care for a positive postnatal experience

      Guideline · World Health Organization · Edition First edition, 2022. The date is the who.int page date, 30 March 2022, which the atlas uses for WHO sources and decisions; the WHO IRIS record 10665/352658 lists an issue date of 2022-03-29 for the same document. The English PDF was read from IRIS (bitstream 73dec697-c033-449c-8323-1cd04a8d8f20). The who.int page lists a corrigendum dated 26 May 2022 beside the web supplement on the evidence base (ISBN 978-92-4-004617-7), not beside the guideline; the corrigendum (mk-who-9789240046177-corrigendum.pdf) changes one source citation on page 93 of that supplement, and the supplement was not read. · Published 2022-03-30 · ISBN: 978-92-4-004598-9

      Locator
      Recommendation 1, Remarks
      How it applies
      WHO guideline PDF (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO); short quotation.
      Retrieved
      Source effective date
      Not reported
      Source state
      Current
      Snapshot hash
      f4cbef197fdf40d33e1c53987ba6f4e099265fe0d867724c8c2e4fb91051a071
      Reuse basis
      Licensed CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO, as stated in the IRIS record (dc.rights.uri https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/igo). Only short quotations with attribution are used, and neither the PDF nor the pages are committed. The non-commercial and share-alike terms need a licensing decision before any text is adapted.

Context Healthy women and newborns after a vaginal birth in a health facility, WHO 2022

Recipient
Mixed recipients
Population
Healthy women and newborns cared for in a health facility after a vaginal birth. For caesarean birth WHO set no minimum stay for lack of evidence, and noted that leaving within a day of a caesarean birth made adverse maternal and newborn outcomes more likely and lowered breastfeeding at six weeks.
Care setting
Health facility
Geography
Global (WHO guidance)
Life stage
The first 24 hours after vaginal birth
Gestational age
Not reported
Postnatal age
Not reported
Follow-up
Not applicable: guideline recommendation
Eligibility: 1 inclusion criterion; 1 exclusion criterion
Included
  • Healthy women and newborns after vaginal birth in a health facility
Excluded
  • Caesarean birth: no minimum time was recommended, and discharge within 24 hours was noted to make adverse outcomes more likely and to lower breastfeeding at six weeks

  • Recommendation Guidance Certainty not assessed

    WHO recommends that healthy women and newborns stay for care in the health facility for 24 hours or more after a vaginal birth. For caesarean birth WHO did not set a minimum time, because the evidence was thin, but it noted that discharge within 24 hours after a caesarean birth made adverse maternal and newborn outcomes more likely and lowered breastfeeding at six weeks.

    Applies to Mixed recipients
    • Healthy women and newborns cared for in a health facility after a vaginal birth. For caesarean birth WHO set no minimum stay for lack of evidence, and noted that leaving within a day of a caesarean birth made adverse maternal and newborn outcomes more likely and lowered breastfeeding at six weeks.
    • Health facility
    • Global (WHO guidance)
    • The first 24 hours after vaginal birth
    • Gestational age Not reported
    • Postnatal age Not reported
    Follow-up Not applicable: guideline recommendation
    Certainty method
    Not assessed
    Limitations
    WHO notes that the evidence for this recommendation was insufficient and that it set a minimum time because stays in some places are too short for the facility care the guideline recommends. Recommendation 44 words the facility stay as at least 24 hours after birth without naming the mode of birth, and Recommendation 45 names vaginal birth; both are recorded as written.
    Last checked
    2026-10-15
    Next evidence check due
    Not scheduled
    Sources and citations (3)

    1. Supports WHO recommendations on maternal and newborn care for a positive postnatal experience

      Guideline · World Health Organization · Edition First edition, 2022. The date is the who.int page date, 30 March 2022, which the atlas uses for WHO sources and decisions; the WHO IRIS record 10665/352658 lists an issue date of 2022-03-29 for the same document. The English PDF was read from IRIS (bitstream 73dec697-c033-449c-8323-1cd04a8d8f20). The who.int page lists a corrigendum dated 26 May 2022 beside the web supplement on the evidence base (ISBN 978-92-4-004617-7), not beside the guideline; the corrigendum (mk-who-9789240046177-corrigendum.pdf) changes one source citation on page 93 of that supplement, and the supplement was not read. · Published 2022-03-30 · ISBN: 978-92-4-004598-9

      Locator
      Recommendation 45, Chapter 3, C.2
      How it applies
      WHO guideline PDF (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO); short quotation.
      Retrieved
      Source effective date
      Not reported
      Source state
      Current
      Snapshot hash
      f4cbef197fdf40d33e1c53987ba6f4e099265fe0d867724c8c2e4fb91051a071
      Reuse basis
      Licensed CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO, as stated in the IRIS record (dc.rights.uri https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/igo). Only short quotations with attribution are used, and neither the PDF nor the pages are committed. The non-commercial and share-alike terms need a licensing decision before any text is adapted.

    2. Background WHO recommendations on maternal and newborn care for a positive postnatal experience

      Guideline · World Health Organization · Edition First edition, 2022. The date is the who.int page date, 30 March 2022, which the atlas uses for WHO sources and decisions; the WHO IRIS record 10665/352658 lists an issue date of 2022-03-29 for the same document. The English PDF was read from IRIS (bitstream 73dec697-c033-449c-8323-1cd04a8d8f20). The who.int page lists a corrigendum dated 26 May 2022 beside the web supplement on the evidence base (ISBN 978-92-4-004617-7), not beside the guideline; the corrigendum (mk-who-9789240046177-corrigendum.pdf) changes one source citation on page 93 of that supplement, and the supplement was not read. · Published 2022-03-30 · ISBN: 978-92-4-004598-9

      Locator
      Recommendation 45, Remarks
      How it applies
      WHO guideline PDF (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO); short quotation.
      Retrieved
      Source effective date
      Not reported
      Source state
      Current
      Snapshot hash
      f4cbef197fdf40d33e1c53987ba6f4e099265fe0d867724c8c2e4fb91051a071
      Reuse basis
      Licensed CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO, as stated in the IRIS record (dc.rights.uri https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/igo). Only short quotations with attribution are used, and neither the PDF nor the pages are committed. The non-commercial and share-alike terms need a licensing decision before any text is adapted.

    3. Supports WHO recommendations on maternal and newborn care for a positive postnatal experience

      Guideline · World Health Organization · Edition First edition, 2022. The date is the who.int page date, 30 March 2022, which the atlas uses for WHO sources and decisions; the WHO IRIS record 10665/352658 lists an issue date of 2022-03-29 for the same document. The English PDF was read from IRIS (bitstream 73dec697-c033-449c-8323-1cd04a8d8f20). The who.int page lists a corrigendum dated 26 May 2022 beside the web supplement on the evidence base (ISBN 978-92-4-004617-7), not beside the guideline; the corrigendum (mk-who-9789240046177-corrigendum.pdf) changes one source citation on page 93 of that supplement, and the supplement was not read. · Published 2022-03-30 · ISBN: 978-92-4-004598-9

      Locator
      Recommendation 45, Remarks (caesarean birth)
      How it applies
      WHO guideline PDF (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO); short quotation.
      Retrieved
      Source effective date
      Not reported
      Source state
      Current
      Snapshot hash
      f4cbef197fdf40d33e1c53987ba6f4e099265fe0d867724c8c2e4fb91051a071
      Reuse basis
      Licensed CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO, as stated in the IRIS record (dc.rights.uri https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/igo). Only short quotations with attribution are used, and neither the PDF nor the pages are committed. The non-commercial and share-alike terms need a licensing decision before any text is adapted.

Context Healthy women and newborns receiving routine postnatal care, WHO 2022

Recipient
Mixed recipients
Population
Healthy women and their newborns who receive routine postnatal care, in facilities or in the community, at any level of resources. The recommendations cover the mother and baby together, so the recipient is mixed. WHO says that, unless a recommendation states otherwise, it applies to all postpartum women and newborns.
Care setting
Facility- or community-based postnatal care at any resource level
Geography
Global (WHO guidance)
Life stage
From birth through the sixth week after birth
Gestational age
Not reported
Postnatal age
Not reported
Follow-up
Not applicable: guideline recommendations
Eligibility: 1 inclusion criterion; 1 exclusion criterion
Included
  • Healthy women and newborns
Excluded
  • Women and newborns with complications, for whom the recommendations on routine care do not set the schedule

  • Recommendation Guidance Certainty not assessed

    WHO recommends at least four postnatal care contacts for healthy women and newborns. For a birth in a health facility, the first contact is the stay in the facility, which WHO sets at 24 hours or more. For a birth at home, the first contact should come as early as possible within the first day. Three further contacts follow: at 48 to 72 hours, at 7 to 14 days, and in week six. WHO gives this the category Recommended.

    Applies to Mixed recipients
    • Healthy women and their newborns who receive routine postnatal care, in facilities or in the community, at any level of resources. The recommendations cover the mother and baby together, so the recipient is mixed. WHO says that, unless a recommendation states otherwise, it applies to all postpartum women and newborns.
    • Facility- or community-based postnatal care at any resource level
    • Global (WHO guidance)
    • From birth through the sixth week after birth
    • Gestational age Not reported
    • Postnatal age Not reported
    Follow-up Not applicable: guideline recommendations
    Certainty method
    Not assessed
    Limitations
    WHO says the number, timing and content of contacts should fit the health outcomes and needs of each woman and newborn. Its guideline group found too little randomised evidence to compare more frequent contacts with fewer, and weighed epidemiological data showing that most deaths of mothers and of newborns come in the first three days after birth, with another rise in the second week. The schedule covers healthy women and newborns; it does not set care for those with complications. The recommendation text was read from the English PDF; the web supplement with the evidence base was not read.
    Last checked
    2026-10-15
    Next evidence check due
    Not scheduled
    Sources and citations (2)

    1. Supports WHO recommendations on maternal and newborn care for a positive postnatal experience

      Guideline · World Health Organization · Edition First edition, 2022. The date is the who.int page date, 30 March 2022, which the atlas uses for WHO sources and decisions; the WHO IRIS record 10665/352658 lists an issue date of 2022-03-29 for the same document. The English PDF was read from IRIS (bitstream 73dec697-c033-449c-8323-1cd04a8d8f20). The who.int page lists a corrigendum dated 26 May 2022 beside the web supplement on the evidence base (ISBN 978-92-4-004617-7), not beside the guideline; the corrigendum (mk-who-9789240046177-corrigendum.pdf) changes one source citation on page 93 of that supplement, and the supplement was not read. · Published 2022-03-30 · ISBN: 978-92-4-004598-9

      Locator
      Recommendation 44, Chapter 3, C.1
      How it applies
      WHO guideline PDF (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO); short quotation.
      Retrieved
      Source effective date
      Not reported
      Source state
      Current
      Snapshot hash
      f4cbef197fdf40d33e1c53987ba6f4e099265fe0d867724c8c2e4fb91051a071
      Reuse basis
      Licensed CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO, as stated in the IRIS record (dc.rights.uri https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/igo). Only short quotations with attribution are used, and neither the PDF nor the pages are committed. The non-commercial and share-alike terms need a licensing decision before any text is adapted.

    2. Background WHO recommendations on maternal and newborn care for a positive postnatal experience

      Guideline · World Health Organization · Edition First edition, 2022. The date is the who.int page date, 30 March 2022, which the atlas uses for WHO sources and decisions; the WHO IRIS record 10665/352658 lists an issue date of 2022-03-29 for the same document. The English PDF was read from IRIS (bitstream 73dec697-c033-449c-8323-1cd04a8d8f20). The who.int page lists a corrigendum dated 26 May 2022 beside the web supplement on the evidence base (ISBN 978-92-4-004617-7), not beside the guideline; the corrigendum (mk-who-9789240046177-corrigendum.pdf) changes one source citation on page 93 of that supplement, and the supplement was not read. · Published 2022-03-30 · ISBN: 978-92-4-004598-9

      Locator
      Recommendation 44, Remarks
      How it applies
      WHO guideline PDF (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO); short quotation.
      Retrieved
      Source effective date
      Not reported
      Source state
      Current
      Snapshot hash
      f4cbef197fdf40d33e1c53987ba6f4e099265fe0d867724c8c2e4fb91051a071
      Reuse basis
      Licensed CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO, as stated in the IRIS record (dc.rights.uri https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/igo). Only short quotations with attribution are used, and neither the PDF nor the pages are committed. The non-commercial and share-alike terms need a licensing decision before any text is adapted.

  • Recommendation Guidance Certainty not assessed

    WHO recommends home visits in the first week after birth for healthy women and newborns, carried out by skilled health personnel or by a trained community health worker. If home visits cannot be done or are not wanted, WHO recommends outpatient postnatal contacts instead. WHO gives this the category Recommended.

    Applies to Mixed recipients
    • Healthy women and their newborns who receive routine postnatal care, in facilities or in the community, at any level of resources. The recommendations cover the mother and baby together, so the recipient is mixed. WHO says that, unless a recommendation states otherwise, it applies to all postpartum women and newborns.
    • Facility- or community-based postnatal care at any resource level
    • Global (WHO guidance)
    • From birth through the sixth week after birth
    • Gestational age Not reported
    • Postnatal age Not reported
    Follow-up Not applicable: guideline recommendations
    Certainty method
    Not assessed
    Limitations
    WHO notes that the trials which showed fewer newborn deaths were mostly in rural, low-resource settings where health services were hard to reach. The recommendation does not give the content of the visit beyond what the guideline recommends elsewhere. The recommendation text was read from the English PDF.
    Last checked
    2026-10-15
    Next evidence check due
    Not scheduled
    Sources and citations (2)

    1. Supports WHO recommendations on maternal and newborn care for a positive postnatal experience

      Guideline · World Health Organization · Edition First edition, 2022. The date is the who.int page date, 30 March 2022, which the atlas uses for WHO sources and decisions; the WHO IRIS record 10665/352658 lists an issue date of 2022-03-29 for the same document. The English PDF was read from IRIS (bitstream 73dec697-c033-449c-8323-1cd04a8d8f20). The who.int page lists a corrigendum dated 26 May 2022 beside the web supplement on the evidence base (ISBN 978-92-4-004617-7), not beside the guideline; the corrigendum (mk-who-9789240046177-corrigendum.pdf) changes one source citation on page 93 of that supplement, and the supplement was not read. · Published 2022-03-30 · ISBN: 978-92-4-004598-9

      Locator
      Recommendation 48, Chapter 3, C.5
      How it applies
      WHO guideline PDF (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO); short quotation.
      Retrieved
      Source effective date
      Not reported
      Source state
      Current
      Snapshot hash
      f4cbef197fdf40d33e1c53987ba6f4e099265fe0d867724c8c2e4fb91051a071
      Reuse basis
      Licensed CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO, as stated in the IRIS record (dc.rights.uri https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/igo). Only short quotations with attribution are used, and neither the PDF nor the pages are committed. The non-commercial and share-alike terms need a licensing decision before any text is adapted.

    2. Background WHO recommendations on maternal and newborn care for a positive postnatal experience

      Guideline · World Health Organization · Edition First edition, 2022. The date is the who.int page date, 30 March 2022, which the atlas uses for WHO sources and decisions; the WHO IRIS record 10665/352658 lists an issue date of 2022-03-29 for the same document. The English PDF was read from IRIS (bitstream 73dec697-c033-449c-8323-1cd04a8d8f20). The who.int page lists a corrigendum dated 26 May 2022 beside the web supplement on the evidence base (ISBN 978-92-4-004617-7), not beside the guideline; the corrigendum (mk-who-9789240046177-corrigendum.pdf) changes one source citation on page 93 of that supplement, and the supplement was not read. · Published 2022-03-30 · ISBN: 978-92-4-004598-9

      Locator
      Recommendation 48, Remarks
      How it applies
      WHO guideline PDF (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO); short quotation.
      Retrieved
      Source effective date
      Not reported
      Source state
      Current
      Snapshot hash
      f4cbef197fdf40d33e1c53987ba6f4e099265fe0d867724c8c2e4fb91051a071
      Reuse basis
      Licensed CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO, as stated in the IRIS record (dc.rights.uri https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/igo). Only short quotations with attribution are used, and neither the PDF nor the pages are committed. The non-commercial and share-alike terms need a licensing decision before any text is adapted.

Context Newborns at each postnatal care contact, WHO 2022

Recipient
Newborn
Population
Newborns seen at postnatal care contacts. WHO adapted and integrated the recommendation from its 2014 postnatal care recommendations.
Care setting
Facility- or community-based postnatal care
Geography
Global (WHO guidance)
Life stage
Each postnatal care contact in the first weeks after birth
Gestational age
Not reported
Postnatal age
Not reported
Follow-up
Not applicable: guideline recommendation
Eligibility: 1 inclusion criterion; 1 exclusion criterion
Included
  • Newborns at a postnatal care contact
Excluded
  • Not stated in the source

  • Recommendation Guidance Certainty not assessed

    WHO recommends checking a newborn at every postnatal contact for these signs, and referring the newborn for further evaluation if any is found: "not feeding well"; "history of convulsions"; "fast breathing (breathing rate > 60 per minute)"; "severe chest in-drawing"; "no spontaneous movement"; "fever (temperature > 37.5 °C)"; "low body temperature (temperature < 35.5 °C)"; and "any jaundice in first 24 hours after birth, or yellow palms and soles at any age". WHO adds that parents and family should be urged to get care early if they notice such signs between visits. WHO gives this the category Recommended.

    Applies to Newborn
    • Newborns seen at postnatal care contacts. WHO adapted and integrated the recommendation from its 2014 postnatal care recommendations.
    • Facility- or community-based postnatal care
    • Global (WHO guidance)
    • Each postnatal care contact in the first weeks after birth
    • Gestational age Not reported
    • Postnatal age Not reported
    Follow-up Not applicable: guideline recommendation
    Certainty method
    Not assessed
    Limitations
    This is a list of signs in the newborn, not in the mother. WHO adapted and integrated the recommendation from its 2014 postnatal care recommendations. The recommendation text was read from the English PDF.
    Last checked
    2026-10-15
    Next evidence check due
    Not scheduled
    Sources and citations (1)

    1. Supports WHO recommendations on maternal and newborn care for a positive postnatal experience

      Guideline · World Health Organization · Edition First edition, 2022. The date is the who.int page date, 30 March 2022, which the atlas uses for WHO sources and decisions; the WHO IRIS record 10665/352658 lists an issue date of 2022-03-29 for the same document. The English PDF was read from IRIS (bitstream 73dec697-c033-449c-8323-1cd04a8d8f20). The who.int page lists a corrigendum dated 26 May 2022 beside the web supplement on the evidence base (ISBN 978-92-4-004617-7), not beside the guideline; the corrigendum (mk-who-9789240046177-corrigendum.pdf) changes one source citation on page 93 of that supplement, and the supplement was not read. · Published 2022-03-30 · ISBN: 978-92-4-004598-9

      Locator
      Recommendation 25, Chapter 3, B.1.1
      How it applies
      WHO guideline PDF (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO); short quotation.
      Retrieved
      Source effective date
      Not reported
      Source state
      Current
      Snapshot hash
      f4cbef197fdf40d33e1c53987ba6f4e099265fe0d867724c8c2e4fb91051a071
      Reuse basis
      Licensed CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO, as stated in the IRIS record (dc.rights.uri https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/igo). Only short quotations with attribution are used, and neither the PDF nor the pages are committed. The non-commercial and share-alike terms need a licensing decision before any text is adapted.

Context Women and newborns about to leave a health facility after birth, WHO 2022

Recipient
Mixed recipients
Population
Women and newborns being discharged from a health facility to the home after birth. WHO took the criteria from discharge criteria found in policy and research documents on women and term newborns with no complications.
Care setting
Health facility
Geography
Global (WHO guidance)
Life stage
At discharge after birth
Gestational age
Not reported
Postnatal age
Not reported
Follow-up
Not applicable: guideline recommendation
Eligibility: 1 inclusion criterion; 1 exclusion criterion
Included
  • Women and newborns being discharged from a health facility after birth
Excluded
  • Not stated in the source

  • Recommendation Guidance Certainty not assessed

    WHO recommends that health workers, before a woman and her newborn leave a health facility after birth, assess three things to improve maternal and newborn outcomes: the physical well-being of the woman and baby together with the emotional well-being of the woman; how skilled and confident the woman is in caring for herself, and the parents and caregivers in caring for the newborn; and the home setting and other things that affect care there, including whether care is sought. WHO gives this the category Recommended.

    Applies to Mixed recipients
    • Women and newborns being discharged from a health facility to the home after birth. WHO took the criteria from discharge criteria found in policy and research documents on women and term newborns with no complications.
    • Health facility
    • Global (WHO guidance)
    • At discharge after birth
    • Gestational age Not reported
    • Postnatal age Not reported
    Follow-up Not applicable: guideline recommendation
    Certainty method
    Not assessed
    Limitations
    WHO says the scoping review behind the criteria did not look at what happens when such criteria are used at discharge, so the recommendation does not rest on evidence that using them changes outcomes. The recommendation text was read from the English PDF.
    Last checked
    2026-10-15
    Next evidence check due
    Not scheduled
    Sources and citations (2)

    1. Supports WHO recommendations on maternal and newborn care for a positive postnatal experience

      Guideline · World Health Organization · Edition First edition, 2022. The date is the who.int page date, 30 March 2022, which the atlas uses for WHO sources and decisions; the WHO IRIS record 10665/352658 lists an issue date of 2022-03-29 for the same document. The English PDF was read from IRIS (bitstream 73dec697-c033-449c-8323-1cd04a8d8f20). The who.int page lists a corrigendum dated 26 May 2022 beside the web supplement on the evidence base (ISBN 978-92-4-004617-7), not beside the guideline; the corrigendum (mk-who-9789240046177-corrigendum.pdf) changes one source citation on page 93 of that supplement, and the supplement was not read. · Published 2022-03-30 · ISBN: 978-92-4-004598-9

      Locator
      Recommendation 46, Chapter 3, C.3
      How it applies
      WHO guideline PDF (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO); short quotation.
      Retrieved
      Source effective date
      Not reported
      Source state
      Current
      Snapshot hash
      f4cbef197fdf40d33e1c53987ba6f4e099265fe0d867724c8c2e4fb91051a071
      Reuse basis
      Licensed CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO, as stated in the IRIS record (dc.rights.uri https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/igo). Only short quotations with attribution are used, and neither the PDF nor the pages are committed. The non-commercial and share-alike terms need a licensing decision before any text is adapted.

    2. Background WHO recommendations on maternal and newborn care for a positive postnatal experience

      Guideline · World Health Organization · Edition First edition, 2022. The date is the who.int page date, 30 March 2022, which the atlas uses for WHO sources and decisions; the WHO IRIS record 10665/352658 lists an issue date of 2022-03-29 for the same document. The English PDF was read from IRIS (bitstream 73dec697-c033-449c-8323-1cd04a8d8f20). The who.int page lists a corrigendum dated 26 May 2022 beside the web supplement on the evidence base (ISBN 978-92-4-004617-7), not beside the guideline; the corrigendum (mk-who-9789240046177-corrigendum.pdf) changes one source citation on page 93 of that supplement, and the supplement was not read. · Published 2022-03-30 · ISBN: 978-92-4-004598-9

      Locator
      Recommendation 46, Summary of evidence
      How it applies
      WHO guideline PDF (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO); short quotation.
      Retrieved
      Source effective date
      Not reported
      Source state
      Current
      Snapshot hash
      f4cbef197fdf40d33e1c53987ba6f4e099265fe0d867724c8c2e4fb91051a071
      Reuse basis
      Licensed CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO, as stated in the IRIS record (dc.rights.uri https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/igo). Only short quotations with attribution are used, and neither the PDF nor the pages are committed. The non-commercial and share-alike terms need a licensing decision before any text is adapted.

Record details

Record id
maternal:postnatal-care
Content hash
5068100efe63ddd1344247e2627485047c5551ec42511ec5d9a10544b84e2728