There is growing global momentum to improve quality of childbirth care and optimise experience and outcomes. In September 2021, World Patient Safety Day was dedicated to safe maternal and newborn care. The WHO Safe Childbirth Checklist (SCC), designed out of the patient safety movement, addresses the major causes of morbidity and mortality surrounding childbirth and was publicly released in 2015. The SCC consolidates essential birth practices that should be done for every woman and infant. Although the SCC was designed as a job aide for frontline professionals, the SCC alone is not what drives safety and quality. Rather, the SCC has been most effective when implemented as part of larger quality improvement initiatives that enhance the enabling environment—policies and practices that enable success—for childbirth care.