The aim of this issue of "Children in the Tropics" is to describe work that may be done by a motivated health team having only the strict minimum of material resources. While not a handbook of obstetrics, this text serves as a reminder of basic information and procedures workers must be able to perform. Following a review of the educational and psychological role of health workers, the discussion offers a description of the progression of the prenatal visit for the first, second, and third trimesters of pregnancy. Discussion then shifts to the management of a normal pregnancy and to what must be done when a risk or pathology has been discovered. Subsequent discussion focuses on the surveillance of labor, delivery, and the puerperium. In conclusion, the importance of planned parenthood is briefly discussed. Appendices provide information about nutrition and pregnancy, medication and pregnancy, medication used in obstetrics, and equipment for the consulting and delivery rooms. (RH)