WUNRN
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE MIDWIFE -
MAY 5
International Confederation of
Midwives
SAFE MOTHERHOOD INITIATIVE
The most common direct
causes of such deaths were known to be:
Methods of effective
prevention or cure for these conditions are well known and widely accessible
for women in the developed world. Midwives in all countries know how to treat
the problems, to initiate management and where necessary to refer to a medical
or other colleague. But in developing countries the risks of these conditions
occurring are higher and are made more dangerous by the widespread incidence
of:
All of these issues,
including maternal and infant mortality, have since been identified among the
targets of the Millennium
Development Goals, set by the United Nations in 2000. It is
clear that midwives on their own cannot solve these problems. However, by
providing high quality care, and being aware of the broader issues, they can
optimise situations - for example by teaching the women they care for to make
best use of limited food and clean water supplies, to reduce the risks of
spreading infection and to recognise the signs of potential complications in
pregnancy and labour.
ICM's
clear message in the campaign for Safe Motherhood, which has been widely agreed
by other agencies, is that care during childbirth from an attendant with midwifery skills is the single most
effective way to reduce maternal death.
ICM is a member and
currently co-chair of an international coalition called the Partnership for Safe Motherhood and
Newborn Health. The steering group of this partnership includes
representatives from WHO, UNFPA, UNICEF, the World Bank, the Population
Council, the White Ribbon Alliance (WRA), Saving Newborn Lives/Save the
Children, Family Care International (FCI), the International Federation of
Gynaecology and Obstetrics (FIGO), the International Planned Parenthood
Federation (IPPF). More specific regional input comes from the Latin American
Taskforce for Maternal Mortality Reduction, the Regional Prevention of Maternal
Mortality Network Africa and the Safe Motherhood Network of Nepal.
WHO's own current drive towards Safe
Motherhood is the programme called Making Pregnancy Safer - http://www.who.int/making_pregnancy_safer/en/.
The Making Pregnancy
Safer programme’s activities are centred on the implementation of appropriate
health strategies, with a major emphasis on availability of a skilled attendant
at labour and birth. In 2004, WHO, ICM and FIGO published a joint statement
called ‘Making Pregnancy Safer: the critical role of the skilled attendant’.
This document identified midwives – or doctors with midwifery skills or nurses
with midwifery skills – as the major groups of skilled attendants.
In 2005, WHO brought out
its annual report on the topic of materna and child health. Both the report and
the focus of World Health Day were Make
every mother and child count. In Chapter 4 of this report it is
confirmed that ‘the prototype of the skilled attendant is the licensed
midwife’. Worldwide efforts in the Safe Motherhood arena have been
strengthened by the inclusion of neonatal and maternal health targets among the
Millennium
Development Goals for achievement by
2015. Goal 4 is 'Reduce child mortality' - to reduce by two thirds the
mortality rate among children under five; and Goal 5 is 'Improve maternal
health' - to reduce by three quarters the maternal mortality ratio in all 189
United Nations Member States.
Finally, ICM is governed
by its mission to advance 'attainment of improved outcomes forwomen … and their
newborns' and its commitment to the belief that strengthening andsupporting
midwives and the midwifery profession are the best ways to do this. ICM's
policies and global strategy have been developed to achieve either directly or
indirectly the goal of Safe Motherhood.
_____________________________________________________________________
WORLD
LACKS 350,000 EXPERT MIDWIVES - UNFPA
May 2, 2011 - There is a global shortage of some 350,000 professional midwives, according to the United Nations Population Fund. UNFPA's executive director Dr Babatunde Osotimehin said as a result of the shortage, women and their newborn babies die from complications that would be prevented by a health worker with skills, right equipment and support. He noted that more than one in three women in developing counties give birth alone or with the help of relatives. This, he said, is dangerous for women.
Osotimehin said in poorest countries, as few as 13 percent of all deliveries are assisted by a midwife or a health worker with skills."Midwives are the unsung heroes of maternal and newborn health," Osotimehin in a statement released ahead of the International Day of the Midwife to be marked on May 5. He underscored the need for countries to invest in human resources for health. He added that 1,000 women die daily and 5,500 newborns die in the first week of life for lack of adequate medical care.
In 2011, he added, UNFPA is highlighting the crucial role midwives play in saving lives and strengthening national health systems. "Together with more than 20 partners, we will release the first ever State of the World's Midwifery report in June. We will scale up our joint "Investing in Midwives Programme," with the International Confederation for Midwives to cover 30 countries," he added.
In June thousands of midwives will converge at the Triennial Midwives Congress in Durban, South Africa, to discuss human resources for health and the way forward, he added.
He commended the role played by midwives. "Midwives deliver-and not only babies. They save lives and promote good health in societies. They are essential workforce in an effective healthcare system."