Manual I of the Perinatal Education Programme consists of 15 theory units and 9 skills workshops which address all aspects of maternal care. Most participants take a year to complete the manual.

THEORY UNITS:
Unit 1	Antenatal care
Unit 2	Assessment of fetal growth and condition during pregnancy
Unit 3	The hypertensive disorders of pregnancy
Unit 4	Antepartum haemorrhage
Unit 5	Preterm labour and preterm rupture of the membranes
Unit 6	The first stage of labour: the condition of the mother
Unit 7	The first stage of labour: the condition of the fetus
Unit 8	The first stage of labour: monitoring and management
Unit 9	The second stage of labour
Unit 10	Pain relief in labour
Unit 11	The third stage of labour
Unit 12	The puerperium
Unit 13	Medical problems during pregnancy, labour and the puerperium
Unit 14	Family planning after pregnancy
Unit 15	Regionalised perinatal care

SKILLS WORKSHOPS:
Skills 1-1	General examination at the first antenatal visit
Skills 1-2	Examination of the abdomen in pregnancy
Skills 1-3	Vaginal examination in pregnancy
Skills 1-4	The RPR card test
Skills 2	Routine use of the antenatal card
Skills 8-1	Examination of the abdomen in labour
Skills 8-2	Vaginal examination in labour
Skills 8-3	Recording observations on the partogram
Skills 9	Performing and repairing an episiotomy

The Maternal Care manual was first published in 1993 and later revised in 1998 and again in 2005. At the end of 2000, a total of 13 847 Maternal Care manuals had been bought in South Africa.

The Maternal and Newborn care manuals together form the basic PEP course.