WUNRN
UN News
Centre - 3 June 2014 – Midwives are the unsung heroes of maternal and newborn
health, according to a new United Nations report released that urges greater
investment in these vital healthcare professionals, who can prevent about
two-thirds of deaths among women and newborns.
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The
State of the World’s Midwifery 2014
Childbirth deaths
involving mothers and newborns could be reduced in poor countries if there are
more midwives.
Direct Link to Full 228-Page 2014
Report:
A Universal Pathway. A Woman's Right to Health
The State of the World’s Midwifery (SoWMy) 2014
presents findings on midwifery from 73 low and middle- income countries. The
report, produced by UNFPA, the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM),
the World Health Organization (WHO) and several other partners, shows the
progress and trends that have taken place since the inaugural 2011 edition, and
also identifies the barriers and challenges to future progress. The report
focuses on the urgent need to improve the availability, accessibility,
acceptability and quality of midwifery services. Despite a steady drop in
maternal and newborn deaths since 1990, hundreds of thousands of women and
newborns continue to die each year during pregnancy and childbirth: An
estimated 289,000 women and about 3 million newborn babies died in 2013 alone.
The vast majority lost their lives due to complications and illnesses that
could have been prevented with proper antenatal care and the presence of a
skilled midwife during delivery.