Investing in midwives reduces the risk of mortality

• April 25, 2024

According to the 1st report on the state of delivery care in the world, commissioned and coordinated by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), if each country invested in improve the skills of midwives , the "Millennium Goal" of reducing maternal and child mortality and the spread of HIV / AIDS in countries with lower incomes could be achieved. Annually around 358 thousand women and about 3.6 million newborns die from complications that could be prevented in pregnancy, delivery or postnatal period. In addition, in this period of time about 3 million babies are born dead. The majority of these cases occur in the low income countries , because women do not have access to professional health services.

In an interview for GetQoralHealth , the certified midwife Gabriela Zebadúa Baqueiro, explains the work of the midwives:

According to Flavia Bustreo, deputy general director of Family and Community Health of the WHO, "if you want to stop the death of women and children, it will be necessary to invest in specialized care." "The midwives they can provide this type of care in the communities and in the primary care services. They can also connect women with emergency services in obstetrics, if they need it. "The document estimates that these countries require a minimum of 6 trained midwives per thousand births, if they want to achieve the goal of 95% in this type of service. coverage.

Video Medicine: Home or Hospital? Holding the Space for Human Birth: Saraswathi Vedam at TEDxAmherstCollege (April 2024).