About ALSO

The Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics (ALSO) course helps physicians and other health care providers develop and maintain the knowledge and skills they need to effectively manage potential emergencies during the perinatal period. It also serves as an aid for training residents in obstetrics as well as family medicine.

The course includes a syllabus, lectures and workshops using mannequins for hands-on training. Objective testing and procedure performance evaluation are incorporated into the course. ALSO emphasizes labor and delivery room emergencies but also covers prenatal risk assessment, first-trimester bleeding, consultant relationships, helping parents cope with a birth crisis and information on reducing medical malpractice risk.

View a video explaining what ALSO® does and how it helps people around the world.

Play the video (RealPlayer file: 4 minutes. More information on RealPlayer files.)

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The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) wishes to acknowledge the initial development of the ALSO Program by the University of Wisconsin Department of Family Medicine, and the original national ALSO Development Group of family physicians, obstetricians, and nurses which formed in 1991. The ALSO Program, originally conceptualized by James R. Damos, M.D., was developed under the leadership of Dr. Damos and John W. Beasley M.D. The AAFP acquired ownership of the ALSO Program and its copyright from the University of Wisconsin in 1993.