The vital role of midwives
Midwives are key to improving childrens health and reducing under five preventable deaths
The vital role of midwives
The facts:
- Some 45 million births occur at home without the help of a midwife;
- Thousands of women and tens of thousands of new-borns die every week due to preventable complications during, before and soon after birth;
- Midwives are key to preventing many such complications.
The situation:
Globally, as recently as 10 years ago, the needs of pregnant women, new-born babies and young children—especially in rural regions—were largely ignored. Gender inequity, a lack of political will and the urgent need to focus on HIV were just some of the reasons.
In 2003—and almost every year since—The Lancet medical journal has published a series of maternal, newborn and child health research papers which became a catalyst for global action. Around six years ago, when it was shown that the Millennium Development Goals relating to maternal and child health were lagging, the national leaders began to recognise that pregnant women, newborns and young children were missing out.
World Vision is helping this understanding to reach the local level. An important part of World Vision’s work, including through the Child Health Now campaign, is to provide information and change attitudes within communities and among local, regional and national leadership. The campaign has been talking to local citizens and government committees in communities where lack of midwives and lack of understanding around the importance of midwifery is a challenge. This, in addition to training of new midwives and lobbying for and helping track government funding to increase the ranks of midwives, particularly in remote areas, are key to the goals of World Vision and other organisations.
What can be done about it?
- Governments must increase funding to train and hire midwives and other community health workers;
- Communities must become aware of their needs and rights around access to pregnancy health services;
- In some countries or regions, attitudes toward using midwives (instead of traditional healers) must change.