ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Work on these guidelines was initiated by Dr A. Metin Gülmezoglu and Dr João Paulo Souza of the WHO Department of Reproductive Health and Research, and Dr Matthews Mathai of the WHO Department of Making Pregnancy Safer. Dr Melania Maria Ramos de Amorim of the Universidade Federal de Campina Grande, Campina Grande, Brazil, and Dr Caroline Fox of the Birmingham Women's Hospital, Birmingham, United Kingdom, helped with updating of some of the Cochrane reviews and finalization of the GRADE tables. Dr João Paulo Souza prepared the first draft of the document, which was commented on by Dr A. Metin Gülmezoglu before being reviewed by the participants in the technical consultation (Annex 1).

WHO gratefully acknowledges the continuing support provided to this area of work by Mary Ellen Stanton, Senior Maternal Health Adviser, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Washington, DC, USA. Thanks are also due to Prof. Michel Boulvain, Maternity Hospital, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland, for his advice and assistance with respect to preparation of the technical consultation for the present guidelines. WHO also wishes to thank USAID for financially supporting the work on these guidelines.

WHO is also grateful to the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group, especially the staff at their office in Liverpool, United Kingdom, for their support in updating the Cochrane reviews.