WUNRN
Website Includes Slideshow
Celebrating the Work of Midwives
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE MIDWIFE -
MAY 5
Statement
for the International Day of the Midwife 2013
Joint
statement from the United Nations Population Fund and the International
Confederation of Midwives
......................................................................................................
Chidbirth
is perhaps the riskiest and most miraculous time in a woman's life. And
midwives are truly the unsung heroines of the challenge to reduce the risks
women face in bringing forth life.
Now,
armed with better skills and training, midwives are increasingly able to deal
with life-threatening emergencies and are playing a critical role in making
motherhood safer around the world. It is estimated that trained, well-equipped
and supported midwives could save the lives of more than 200,000 women
each year, and perhaps ten times that many infants.
But midwives do much more than deliver babies: Pregnancy, whether planned or unintended, is often a key entry-point into the health system. And midwives can provide a welcoming gateway. They often introduce women to the healthcare system and ensure that women and their babies receive a continuum of skilled care during pregnancy, childbirth, and in the important days and weeks after birth.
Midwives care for mothers before and after childbirth, they protect the health of newborns, they offer family planning counselling and supplies, they prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV, and they know when to call for emergency help when complications arise.
_____________________________________________________