News & Updates

Midwifery-led care is a high-certainty, evidence-based strategy to improve maternity care. Midwife-led units (MLUs) are one example of how the midwifery model of care is being integrated into existing health systems to transform maternal health around the world. In this viewpoint article by Annals of Global Health, 2020, the authors aim to promote global investment in MLUs by describing the benefits, current advances and future directions of this model of care. 

According to WHO safe and effective midwifery care can avert 83% of all maternal deaths, stillbirths, and newborn deaths. In India, each year 35 000 women die during pregnancy, childbirth and postnatal period; there are 272 000 stillbirths, and  562 000 babies die during the first month of their life. Midwifery care has the potential to prevent many of these deaths. India has over two million nurse-midwives and nearly 900 000 Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (ANMs) and, India has committed to an additional 85 000 midwives by 2023.

The article underlines the need for a renewed commitment to research and the implementation of MLUs across a variety of settings to address the practice, education and policy issues associated with this evidence-based strategy. The World Health Organization “Year of the Nurse and Midwife-2020” is an opportune time to invest in midwifery models of care that are fundamental to achieving core global health initiatives such as Universal Healthcare 2030.

Click on the linked file below to read the full article.