Half of the World's Women Still Lack Access to Skilled Care at Childbirth

A mother and child in rural Tunisia.HAMMAMET, Tunisia — Half of the world's pregnant women still have no access to skilled care at childbirth. This contributes to a persistently high number of mothers and babies who continue to die every day for want of skilled attendance at birth. To ensure that every pregnant woman and newborn has access to a skilled birth attendant, ICM, the International Confederation of Midwives; UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund; WHO, the World Health Organization; and their partners are calling on governments to invest in developing and scaling-up of "Midwifery in the Community".

Midwives and public health experts from 20 countries hope to raise awareness and increase access to skilled care at childbirth to save the lives of more than 5 million women and over 45 million newborns by 2015.

The health and well-being of mothers and their babies have improved in several countries, such as Costa Rica, Egypt, Malaysia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Tunisia, because of their investment in midwives' and others' training through national midwifery programs.

"Midwives form an invaluable bridge between communities and facilities, particularly in rural areas," says Anika Rahman, President, Americans for UNFPA. They transcend the levels of care within health systems, and are essential to saving women's lives and insuring healthy childbirth.

Access to skilled care during pregnancy and childbirth is a woman's basic human right. Investment in the training and supporting midwives is urgently needed worldwide. An estimated 334,000 more midwives are required to reduce maternal and newborn death and disability, according to the 2005 WHO World Health Report. "A strong midwifery profession is key to achieving safer childbirth, and all pregnant women should have access to a midwife," said UNFPA Executive Director Thoraya Ahmed Obaid.

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