Global shortage of 900,000 midwives threatens women's lives: Report

Hundreds of thousands of women and millions of newborns die yearly due to insufficient midwives worldwide, the Environment Health Corporation (WHO) said on Wednesday.

This is as the world is currently facing a shortage of 900,000 midwives, which represents a third of the mandatory global midwifery workforce, in line with the UN health agency.

The Covid-19 crisis has only exacerbated these problems, with medical needs of women and newborns being overshadowed, midwifery services being disrupted and midwives being deployed to other health services.

These are some of the major takeaways from the 2021 Status of World's Midwifery record by UNFPA (the UN sexual and reproductive health agency), WHO (Environment Health Organization), International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) and partners, which evaluates the midwifery workforce and related wellbeing resources found in 194 countries.

The acute shortage of midwives is exacting a terrible global toll in the sort of preventable deaths, as per the report.

An analysis conducted because of this report, published in the Lancet previous December, showed that fully resourcing midwife-delivered attention by 2035 could avert 67 % of maternal deaths, 64 % of newborn deaths and 65 % of stillbirths.

It could save around 4.3 million lives every year, said WHO.

Despite alarms raised within the last Status of the World's Midwifery survey in 2014, which as well provided a roadmap how to remedy this deficit, progress over the past eight years has been too slow.

The analysis in this year's report shows that, at current rates of progress, the situation may improve slightly by 2030.

Gender inequality is an unacknowledged driver in this massive shortage. The continued under-resourcing of the midwifery workforce is usually an indicator of health systems certainly not prioritising the sexual and reproductive overall health needs of females and girls, rather than recognising the part of midwives - almost all of whom are women - to meet up these needs. Women account for 93 % of midwives and 89 % of nurses.

Midwives do not simply attend births. In addition they furnish antenatal and postnatal good care and a variety of sexual and reproductive well being services, including family planning, detecting and dealing with sexually transmitted attacks, and sexual and reproductive wellbeing offerings for adolescents, all while ensuring respectful health care and upholding women's rights.

As numbers of midwives increase, and they are able to provide care in an enabling environment, women's and newborns' health increases as a whole, benefitting all of society.

For midwives to attain their life-saving and life-changing potential, higher investment is needed within their education and training, midwife-led program delivery, and midwifery leadership.

Governments must prioritise financing and support for midwifery and take on concrete steps to include midwives in identifying health policies, based on the UN health agency.

Dr Franka Cadee, President of the International Confederation of Midwives said as autonomous, primary care service providers, midwives are continually overlooked and ignored. "It's time for governments to acknowledge the data surrounding the life-promoting, life-saving impact of midwife-led attention, and do something on the SoWMy report's recommendations."

"ICM is focused on leveraging the effectiveness of our global midwife network to transport forward these powerful results and inspire country-level transformation. However, this work isn't possible without commitment from decision makers and those with the methods to invest in midwives and the product quality care they offer to birthing women."

Dr. Natalia Kanem, UNFPA Executive Director, explained the Talk about of the World's Midwifery statement sounds the alarm that the world urgently wants 1.1 million more fundamental health workers to deliver sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn and adolescent healthcare, and 80 % of the missing essential health personnel are midwives.

"An able, well-trained midwife may have an enormous impact on childbearing females and their own families - a direct effect often passed on from one generation to the next. At UNFPA, we have spent more than a decade strengthening education, boosting working conditions and supporting leadership roles for the midwifery profession. We have seen these efforts work, however they need greater investment."

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-Standard, said midwives play a good vital role in lessening the dangers of childbirth for women around the globe, but many have themselves been subjected to risk through the Covid-19 pandemic.

"We should learn the lessons the pandemic is normally coaching us, by implementing policies and building investments that deliver better support and security for midwives and other health workers. This record provides the data and proof to support WHO's longstanding phone to strengthen the midwifery workforce, that will deliver a triple dividend in contributing to better overall health, gender equality and inclusive monetary growth."

The start of the 2021 Condition of World's Midwifery report includes policy advice to improve sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn and adolescent health service delivery and midwifery leadership and governance.

These policy recommendations is definitely the subject matter of a gathering of health ministers in 18 May and a dialogue at the 74th World Health Assembly (24 May), where WHO Member States are expected to adopt the evidence-established Global Strategic Directions for Nursing and Midwifery 2021-2025 with an answer over nursing and midwifery.