Why is it important to invest in midwives?

Today is International Day of the Midwife (IDM). It is a day to celebrate and to reflect on the impact midwives and midwifery can make on reducing maternal and newborn mortality, morbidity, stillbirths and on improving quality care for women and newborns. It is also a time to consider how...

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Year of the Midwife

This article was originally published by Sage Journals.  The World Health Organization assigned 2020 as the year of the midwife. Midwifery is a commonly misunderstood profession. A frequent view of midwives is that they assist childbirth; even though it is a part of their role, professional midwives are skilled in...

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Midwifery is a vital solution—What is holding back global progress?

Introduction We need look no further than midwifery for compelling evidence of gender inequalities blocking progress in global health. Despite growing evidence of the extensive impact of midwifery,1-6 midwives and the women they care for are disempowered by patriarchal structures and professional, socio‐cultural, and economic barriers.7, 8 Widespread misunderstanding of the role and...

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The First 42 Days: Prioritizing Moms and Babies in Rural India

When Tulsa Naik gives birth, her child will be one of more than 25 million babies born in India this year. Already the mother of a two-year-old daughter, she and her husband, Hrudananda, know this will be a joyful time in their family’s life. But in Odisha, the eastern Indian...

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