Skilled, knowledgeable and compassionate care for  the childbearing women or person, newborn infants and families across the continuum from pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, birth, postpartum and the early weeks of life. Core characteristics include optimizing normal biological, psychological, social and cultural processes of reproduction and early life, timely prevention and management of complications, consultation with and referral to other services, respecting  individual circumstances and views, and working in partnership with individuals to strengthen their own capabilities to care for themselves and their families.