Country action

Guatemala

©UNICEF/ Rodrigo Mussapp
Midwife Rosa Maria Xona Caj visits one of her patients, Carmela, who is 8 months pregnant, in February 2022 in the village of El Rancho, San Cristobal, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala.

Every Woman Every Newborn in Guatemala

Download the full profile with additional key demographics, progress against milestones, and more.

This profile was developed in May 2023, using data from 2018-2023. 

©UNICEF/ Rodrigo Mussapp
Claudia Marina Mocal breastfeeds her 8-day-old daughter in February 2022 in Alta Verapaz, Guatemala. Her midwife, Rosa Maria Xona Caj, attended her delivery and now visits her every 4 days to check that she and her baby are doing well. 

MNH Acceleration Plan highlights

In 2026, Guatemala’s priorities for maternal and newborn health include:

  • Provide comprehensive antenatal care, integrating: ETMI Plus(timely screening, diagnosis, and treatment of HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B and C, and Chagas disease), detection and management of non-communicable diseases and maternal conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, anemia, as well as mental health conditions, maternal nutrition, and newborn screening.

  • Strengthen the quality of obstetric care through evidence-based decision-making, with emphasis on reducing unnecessary cesarean sections and ensuring safe cesarean care (IPC), as well as strengthening timely management of obstetric emergencies, maternal mortality surveillance and audits, and the promotion of family planning.
  • Strengthen essential newborn care, prevention and management of complications, in particular by increasing the availability and timely access to oxygen and strengthening neonatal resuscitation capacity.
  • Develop and consolidate infection prevention and control (IPC) measures in maternal and neonatal services, along with strengthening referral systems and surveillance.

©UNICEF/ Patricia Willocq
Midwife Catarina Toc  examines Ramona  who is 32 weeks pregnant, in October 2019, in the Chuisuc community of Totonicapán, Guatemala.

National mortality targets

Maternal
mortality ratio

100 per 100,000 live births
by 2025

Stillbirth
rate

No data

Neonatal mortality rate

12 per 1,000 live births
by 2025

Progress to meet the national maternal, newborn mortality and stillbirth reduction targets

Photo © 2019 UNICEF/ Patricia Willocq
A group of women are waiting to be checked by the anesthetist while an expecting mother who started labor is being monitored by the gynecologists, in October 2019 at the UNICEF baby friendly National Hospital of Totonicapán, Guatemala.

Progress to meet Every Woman Every Newborn Everywhere coverage targets

©UNICEF/ Rodrigo Mussapp
Midwife Rosa Maria Xona Caj visits one of her patients, Carmela, who is 8 months pregnant, in February 2022 in the village of El Rancho, San Cristobal, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala.

Quality of care in Guatemala

Guatemala’s successes in improving quality of care for maternal, newborn and child health are essential to help reduce maternal and newborn mortality and stillbirths. These include:

  • Integrate quality of care in the national plan to reduce maternal mortality.
  • Integrate quality of care in SMN, PF, and the experience of care, effective referrals and an enabling environment in the indicators for quality of care for maternal and newborn health.

News and events

Lessons to end postpartum hemorrhage

First webinar in a four-part series sharing lessons from the Accelerating Measurable Progress and Leveraging Investments for Postpartum Hemorrhage Impact (AMPLI-PPHI) project. Organized by Jhpiego.

Read more

Resources

See also: ‘Reducing Adolescent Pregnancy through Youth-Friendly Health Services: The National Experience of Guatemala‘, the poster that the Guatemala delegation presented at the International Maternal Newborn Health Conference 2026. 

Key Messages on Women’s,Children’s and Adolescents’ Health

For the Seventy-ninth World Health Assembly

These messages were developed by the United Advocacy Working Group for Maternal, Newborn and Child health.

International Maternal Newborn Health Conference 2026: country posters

Posters presented by 40 country delegations at the International Maternal Newborn Health Conference 2026.

Unified Advocacy Asks for Maternal and Newborn Health

International Maternal Newborn Health
Conference (IMNHC) 2026

These key messages and advocacy asks are intended to equip partners with evidence-based messaging and
resources in the context of IMNHC 2026.