Introduction — This topic includes links to society and government-sponsored guidelines from selected countries and regions around the world. We will update these links periodically; newer versions of some guidelines may be available on each society's website. Some societies may require users to log in to access their guidelines.
The recommendations in the following guidelines may vary from those that appear in UpToDate topic reviews. Readers who are looking for UpToDate topic reviews should use the UpToDate search box to find the relevant content.
Links to related guidelines are provided separately. (See "Society guideline links: Labor" and "Society guideline links: Shoulder dystocia".)
International
●WHO: Recommendations – Intrapartum care for a positive childbirth experience (2018)
Canada
●Choosing Wisely Canada: Avoid the use of routine episiotomy in spontaneous vaginal births (2019)
●SOGC: Guidelines for vaginal birth after previous caesarean birth (2018)
United States
●ACOG: Committee opinion on approaches to limit intervention during labor and birth (2019)
●ACOG: Practice bulletin on vaginal birth after cesarean delivery (2019)
●ACOG: Practice bulletin for prevention and management of obstetric lacerations at vaginal delivery (2018)
●ACOG: Practice bulletin for use of prophylactic antibiotics in labor and delivery (2018)
●ACOG: Committee opinion on delivery of a newborn with meconium-stained amniotic fluid (2017)
●ACOG: Committee opinion on immersion in water during labor and delivery (2016)
United Kingdom
●NICE: Clinical guideline on intrapartum care for healthy women and babies (2014, updated 2017)
●NICE: Quality standard on intrapartum care (2015, updated 2017)
●RCOG: Green-top guideline for the management of third- and fourth-degree perineal tears, 3rd edition (2015)
●RCOG: Green-top guideline on birth after previous caesarean birth, 2nd edition (2015)
Australia-New Zealand
●RANZCOG: Provision of routine intrapartum care in the absence of pregnancy complications (2017)
Japan
●[In Japanese] Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology (JSOG) and Japan Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (JAOG): Obstetrics and gynecology clinical practice guidelines – Obstetrics (2020)
●[In English] JSOG and JAOG: Guidelines for obstetrical practice in Japan (2014)
●[In Japanese] Nationwide survey on safe and satisfactory pregnancy and births desired by mothers – Revision of the guidelines for comfortable and safe birth and birth based on scientific evidence (2013)