Access to modern contraception remains out of reach for millions of women and adolescents worldwide, a gap that continues to drive unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortions, and preventable maternal deaths. An estimated 259 million women who wish to avoid pregnancy are not using safe, modern contraceptive methods.
Midwives are uniquely positioned to close this gap. Often the first, and sometimes only, health professionals available to women, they play a critical role in ensuring access to quality, rights-based family planning. Yet in many countries, legal and regulatory barriers prevent midwives from providing the full range of contraceptive methods, particularly long-acting reversible contraceptives such as implants and intrauterine devices.
Evidence from Ethiopia, Indonesia, Sweden and other countries shows that when midwives are empowered through policy reform, education, and investment, contraceptive uptake rises, unmet need declines, and maternal deaths fall. Task-sharing policies that authorise midwives to provide all contraceptive methods have proven both safe and cost-effective, while also strengthening health systems and advancing gender equality.
Every US$1 invested in family planning yields US$26.80 in health and economic returns. Investing in midwives delivers measurable impact: more lives saved, more women exercising choice, and stronger, more resilient health systems.
This policy brief calls for urgent action to:
- Reform laws and regulations that restrict midwives’ scope of practice;
- Strengthen midwifery education and certification to include comprehensive family planning; and
- Increase investment in midwives and ensure reliable supplies of affordable contraceptives.
Empowering midwives to deliver the full range of family planning services is one of the smartest, most transformative investments a country can make for women’s health, rights, and well-being.
