News

Midwives continue to deliver amid uncertainty in Afghanistan

UNFPA’s midwifery helpline continues to operate, providing uninterrupted life-saving obstetric support to birth attendants facing pregnancy complications and dangerous deliveries. © UNFPA Afghanistan

28 September 2021

News

Midwifery training helps doctors, nurses level up their skills in rural China

Dr. Cairen Sangji conducts an antenatal examination for a local Tibetan woman in Yushu, Qinghai Province. Image courtesy of Yushu County Maternal and Child Health Hospital

03 August 2021

News

Midwives bring portable ultrasound technology to remote communities in Kenya

A midwife examines a pregnant woman using the portable ultrasound device. © UNFPA Kenya

15 July 2021

News

Partnering with traditional birth attendants to reach Afro-descendant and indigenous women in Colombia

Traditional midwives are working with health systems to provide both modern and traditional care to expectant mothers. © UNFPA Colombia

06 July 2021

News

As Afghanistan grapples with surge in COVID-19 cases, one midwife shares her strength

Mastura Zia provides maternal health services to Afghan returnees, many of them deported from neighbouring Iran. © Zaeem Abdul Rahman/UNFPA Afghanistan

23 June 2021

News

After childbirth trauma, Afghan women emerge from life in shadows

Noorjahan laughs as she recovers from fistula surgery in Malalai Hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan. Now, she says, "I can live." © Andrea Bruce/ NOOR

07 June 2016

Policy dialogue on the State of the World’s Midwifery 2021 report

18 May 2021

Youtube Live

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In crisis after crisis, mothers around the world are asked to do the impossible

A new mother of twins is attended by maternal health nurse Ana Paula Francisco Adrade. Nurse Adrade says it has been challenging to get enough gloves and face masks to safely care for pregnant women. © UNFPA Mozambique

05 May 2021

UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem on The State of the World’s Midwifery 2021 Report

Published on: 05/05/2021

The world is currently facing an acute shortage of 900,000 midwives, which represents a third of the required global midwifery workforce. The COVID-19 crisis has only exacerbated these problems, with the health needs of women and newborns being overshadowed, midwifery services being disrupted and midwives being deployed to other health services.

News

Global shortage of 900,000 midwives threatens women’s lives and health, new report shows

04 May 2021

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