This handbook is an update of an earlier publication on monitoring the availability and use of obstetric services issued by UNICEF WHO and UNFPA in 1997. The indicators defined within the publication have been used by ministries of health, international agencies and program managers in over 50 countries around the world. This revision incorporates changes based on monitoring and assessment conducted worldwide and the emerging evidence on the topic over the years and has been agreed by an international panel of experts. It includes two new indicators and an additional signal function with updat