Sponsor a BLSO™ course

Prepare your pregnancy care providers for obstetric emergencies by holding a Basic Life Support in Obstetrics (BLSO™) course.

Basic Life Support in Obstetrics (BLSO) offers evidence-based, hands-on training that promotes teamwork and helps your organization manage both normal labor and perinatal emergencies. The BLSO course is designed for prehospital care providers, emergency department personnel, medical and nursing students, and non-delivering physicians. Additionally, BLSO is ideal for small rural hospital settings who historically have a low volume of infant deliveries.

BLSO promotes teamwork since effective and accurate communication reduces the potential for adverse events when obstetric emergencies occur at home, en route to a hospital or birthing center or in the emergency department. Prehospital resuscitation, communication in transit and transition to hospital care can be improved when prehospital and hospital providers share a conceptual framework.

BLSO learning objectives

At the end of this activity, participants will be able to:

  • Improve the management of normal deliveries and obstetrical emergencies through teaching basic, standardized skills to first responders and various other health care workers.

  • Discuss methods of managing pregnancy and birth urgencies and emergencies, which standardizes the skills of practicing pregnancy care providers.

  • Demonstrate content and skill acquisition as evidenced by successful completion of course examination, skills workstations and testing.

  • Demonstrate effective team communication strategies focusing on patient safety.

BLSO course topics

  • Communication and teamwork

  • Physiological changes in pregnancy and initial assessment

  • Normal labor

  • Preterm labor and pre-labor rupture of membranes

  • Hypertensive emergencies

  • Shoulder dystocia

  • Postpartum hemorrhage

  • Malpresentations, multiple gestation, and cord prolapse

  • Other pregnancy and postpartum emergencies

  • Trauma and resuscitation in pregnancy

BLSO faculty requirements

Course coordinator (1): No ALSO or BLSO status necessary

Course director (1): Any ALSO or BLSO status

ALSO advisory faculty (1): Only required on site for observing and/or recommending candidates. Otherwise, may serve as a consultant to the director and coordinator remotely.

ALSO approved instructors (1 or more): These individuals have completed the ALSO instructor course and were observed teaching and recommended for approved instructor.

Non-approved instructors (0 or more): Includes ALSO instructor candidates as well as other professionals considered experts in the workstation topic which they are assigned to teach.

AAFP staff will provide a listing of approved instructors, by state, if requested at also@aafp.org.

Application process

Follow our simple three-step application process to hold a BLSO course.

  1. Read the BLSO course guidelines [NEED LINK]. Get a comprehensive description of the process, responsibilities and the standards which must be upheld when planning and implementing an ALSO course.

  2. Apply for the course* [NEED LINK]. Complete a new CME application using the ALSO and/or BLSO pathway. After the CME application is approved, the sponsor will receive two approval emails, including CME approval and ALSO course approval with next steps.

  3. Access the dashboard [NEED LINK]. After course approval and distributing the online course link to registrants, use the dashboard to track learners as they access and complete the online course. Learners must show as “complete” before attending the live course.

*New organizational account form [NEED LINK] with a one-time fee to sponsor an ALSO or BLSO course. If you have any questions about this AAFP credit system requirement, please email cmecredit@aafp.org or call (800) 274-2237.

Course fees**

  • Course materials and registration fee and CME application processing; administrative documents with instruction, teaching documents and videos with instruction, auto-reported CME, letter of participation and status wallet cards: $105.95 per course

  • Online learner access fee, including access to the BLSO manual PDF: $76.95 per learner

  • BLSO manual (PDF): $43.95 per learner (optional)

  • BLSO instructor manual (PDF): $39.95 per instructor (optional)

  • BLSO mnemonic reference cards (recommended): $15.95 per learner (optional)

**Fees reflect content costs but exclude shipping costs for printed materials. All prices are subject to change at the discretion of the AAFP.

Payment options

Optional products can be ordered online by credit card.

The AAFP will invoice the sponsor for the online course access fees (per learner) and the course materials registration fee, approximately 10 days after completion of the live course.

Note: The AAFP cannot invoice multiple organizations for the same course, but will, however, accept multiple payments. In these cases, the course sponsor can provide copies of the invoice to the other organizations to allow them to pay the sponsor or pay the AAFP directly (please reference the invoice number). For more information on payments, please review the course guidelines document.

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