World Health Organization (WHO): 10 Facts On Midwifery

At the inception of this blog, I'm attempting to serve two purposes: 1) give midwives a voice as well as a stronger presence in the field of women's health and 2) attend to the needs of women.  I hope to abate the need to persistently explain the purpose and dire need for midwifery services.  Therefore, I'm dedicating a few of my first posts to doing just that. Justifying my cause.  See below:

Taken from http://www.who.int/en/

10 FACTS on Midwifery

Worldwide, approximately 350 000 women die every year due to pregnancy and childbirth related complications. Many maternal and newborn deaths can be prevented if competent midwives assist women before, during and after childbirth and are able to refer them to emergency obstetric care when severe complications arise. Most of these largely preventable deaths occur in low-income countries and in poor and rural areas.

#1  Competent midwives decrease the risk of dying during childbirth.

About 1000 women and almost 10,000 newborns die every day due to largely preventable complications during pregnancy, childbirth and the immediate postnatal period. In addition, every year, nearly 3 million babies are stillborn. Many of these lives could be saved if every birth were attended by a midwife.

#2  More than one third of all births take place without a midwife or other skilled health staff.

The WHO aims to improve maternal health with its Millennium Development Goals (MDG 5) . "Today, maternal mortality is the slowest moving target of all the Millennium Development Goals – and that is an outrage . . .no woman should have to give her life to give life." Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary-General

#3 Midwives also provide essential care after birth.

After childbirth, midwives support mothers. They attend to the health of the newborn and the mother. They also counsel the mother on newborn care, birth spacing and family planning.

Click here for the complete list of 10 Facts on Midwifery

WHO supports countries' efforts to make sure that every women and every newborn baby receive the best possible health care.