Clinical practice guidelines are defined as systematically developed statements that assist practitioners in making decisions about appropriate health care for specific clinical circumstances¹. As such, guidelines provide the practitioner with a synthesis of the best available empirical evidence about specific clinical situations, and where such evidence may be lacking, with professional consensus opinion. Guidelines have been advanced to assist in continuous quality management, to promote appropriate and effective utilization of health care resources, to improve health outcomes, and to minimize inappropriate variation in clinical practice ²³.

The BCPHP has developed and disseminated obstetric and newborn interdisciplinary guidelines to all acute perinatal care facilities in British Columbia since 1990 and to community perinatal care facilities since 1997. The purpose of BCPHP guidelines is to recommend practice parameters based on current research, expert opinion, and "best practice" methods.

The BCPHP supports a philosophy of interdisciplinary education and all perinatal guidelines have been developed, distributed, and implemented within a multidisciplinary context.