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Courtesy Panos Pictures.

Midwives save women’s lives all around the world, every day. Midwives provide high-quality reproductive health care, often at significantly reduced costs; they are usually present in the community in greater numbers than physicians; are often more geographically distributed, especially in rural areas; and often are the principal staff members in community or primary health centers.

Midwives are truly on the front lines; making childbirth safe by providing accessible pre- and postnatal care, and by providing comprehensive reproductive health care, including safe abortion, for women.

On this 16th International Day of the Midwife, Ipas honors midwives as a critical component in women’s health.

Properly trained and supported midwives and other midlevel providers are a valuable resource at the community-care level. In communities where physicians are in short supply, midwives and other midlevel health-care providers are often the only contact many people have with the health system. Because safe, legal abortion can be hard to obtain for some women, especially those in rural or developing areas, midwives who are trained to provide abortion care can be the key to expanding access and saving lives. In many areas around the globe, such as South Africa and Ethiopia, midwives are authorized to perform uterine evacuation or medication abortion. In fact, a national training program in South Africa for midwives has helped to reduce the number of abortion-related deaths.

“Every year, more than 67,000 women die from complications from unsafe abortion — largely because they don’t have access to safe reproductive health care. Midwives, who often live in the communities where women are, can play a key role in providing critical reproductive health services to women if they are trained and empowered,” says Ramatu Daroda, senior training and services advisor for Ipas and trained midwife.

Since 2001, Ipas has trained more than 10,000 midwives in abortion and postabortion care. Ipas strongly believes that midwives are an integral part of reproductive health service delivery; and supports midwifery training and incentives, so that midwives can continue to improve maternal health.

“Every year, more than 67,000 women die from complications from unsafe abortion—largely because they don’t have access to safe reproductive health care. Midwives, who often live in the communities where women are, can play a key role in providing critical reproductive health services to women if they are trained and empowered,” says Ramatu Daroda, senior training and services advisor for Ipas and trained midwife.

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For more information, contact media@ipas.org