New report sounds the alarm on global shortage of 900,000 midwives
Fully investing in midwives by 2035 would avert roughly two-thirds of maternal, newborn deaths and stillbirths, saving 4.3 million lives per year.
New York, May 05, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) Millions of lives of women and newborns are lost, and millions more experience ill health or injury, because the needs of pregnant women and skills of midwives are not recognized or prioritized.
The world is currently facing a shortage of 900,000 midwives, which represents a third of the required global midwifery workforce. The COVID-19 crisis has only exacerbated these problems, with the health needs of women and newborns being overshadowed, midwifery services being disrupted and midwives being deployed to other health services.
Time to prioritize women’s needs and skills
The global midwifery workforce now stands at 1.9 million, about two thirds of what is needed, according to the report, titled the State of World’s Midwifery 2021.
Gender inequality is one of the drivers of the enormous midwife shortage. The chronic under-investment in midwifery highlights how the needs of women, and the skills of a mostly female workforce, are often neglected by policymakers and health systems.
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And results are too often tragic, taking the form of ill health, maternal and newborn death, injury or stillbirth. Fully supporting midwifery, on the other hand, could avert 67 per cent of maternal deaths, 64 per cent of newborn deaths and 65 per cent of stillbirths, saving an estimated 4.3 million lives per year, according to an analysis conducted for this report.
New report sounds the alarm on global shortage of 900 000 midwives
New report sounds the alarm on global shortage of 900 000 midwives 5 May 2021 Reading time:
Fully investing in midwives by 2035 would avert roughly two-thirds of maternal, newborn deaths and stillbirths, saving 4.3 million lives per year.
Millions of lives of women and newborns are lost, and millions more experience ill health or injury, because the needs of pregnant women and skills of midwives are not recognized or prioritized.
The world is currently facing a shortage of 900 000 midwives, which represents a third of the required global midwifery workforce. The COVID-19 crisis has only exacerbated these problems, with the health needs of women and newborns being overshadowed, midwifery services being disrupted and midwives being deployed to other health services.