Our Focus
Health workforce- Midwifery
Photo: Samira, a midwife, gives health advice to a patient in Foladi clinic in October 2016 in Bamyan, Afghanistan. © UNFPA/Rada Akbar
Our Focus
Midwifery
Photo: Samira, a midwife, gives health advice to a patient in Foladi clinic in October 2016 in Bamyan, Afghanistan. © UNFPA/Rada Akbar
Supporting midwifery and midwifery models of care
The World Health Organization (WHO) is supporting midwifery and midwifery models of care to improve maternal and newborn health and prevent stillbirths. It released a global position paper (link to position paper) on the topic, with the inputs of over 100 individuals and organisations, providing the relevant needed information about these models.
The WHO is also supporting countries to strengthen midwifery and transition to midwifery models of care and will soon release an implementation guidance with key information to facilitate this transition.
: A midwife is presenting a newborn to the mother at Panzi Hospital in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in January 2022. © UNFPA/Lisa Thanner
What are midwifery models of care?
Midwifery models of care are models of care in which the main care providers for women and newborns, starting from pre-pregnancy and continuing all the way through the postnatal period, are educated, licensed, regulated midwives who autonomously provide and coordinate respectful, high-quality care across their full scope of practice, using an approach that is aligned with the midwifery philosophy of care, which: promotes a person-centered approach to care, values the woman-midwife relationship, optimises physiological, psychological, social and cultural processes, and uses interventions only when indicated.
Pregnant women doing balance ball exercises with a midwife in a health facility in China. ©UNFPA.
In midwifery models of care, midwives provide integrated care, addressing the needs of each individual woman and newborn, within functional and enabling health systems, equipped with necessary resources and streamlined consultation and referral processes. They collaborate within networks of care as part of interdisciplinary teams characterized by equality, trust and respect. This approach guarantees that every woman and newborn receives personalized care, tailored to their health needs.
Midwifery models of care are adaptable to all levels of care and contexts, including home-, community- and hospital-based settings; the public and private sectors and public–private partnerships; resource-constrained environments; and humanitarian and crisis settings. This ensures wide accessibility, equity and relevance across different cultural contexts for women, newborns, partners, families and communities.
Why midwifery models of care matter?
60% of all maternal deaths, stillbirths and neonatal deaths
could be averted by 2035 with universal coverage of interventions provided by midwives.
90% of the global need
for essential sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn and adolescent health interventions could be met by midwives, with the support of interdisciplinary teams.
Midwifery models of care
Save lives and improve health and well-being of women, newborns, partners, families and communities
Humanize care and are responsive to the needs of women
Contribute to a better society and advance human capital in an uncertain world
Are a cost-effective intervention with potential long-term economic benefits
Guiding principles of midwifery models of care
Midwifery models of care are informed by the following guiding principles:
Who is a midwife?
In midwifery care models, midwives are the primary caregivers for women and newborns before, during, and after childbirth, working as part of interdisciplinary teams. They specialize in supporting healthy and physiological processes during this crucial time, with their care potentially extending before pregnancy and beyond the postnatal period. Midwives are responsible for their own decisions and actions within their scope of practice. If more complex care or specialized treatments are needed, they collaborate with specialist doctors like obstetricians, pediatricians, and anesthesiologists to ensure women and newborns receive the best possible care. When midwives are well-educated, licensed, and work in teams with other healthcare providers, they can deliver respectful, high-quality, and personalized care tailored to the specific needs of each woman and newborn.
Photo: A woman receives midwifery care during pregnancy in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic in September 2017. © UNFPA
Currently, there are 2.5 million midwives in 177 countries. But many more are needed: there is a shortage of 900,000 midwives worldwide.
Sources:
- World Health Organization. Transitioning to midwifery models of care: global position paper. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2024. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.
- Nove et al. 2021 –Nove A, Friberg IK, de Bernis L, McConville F, Moran AC, Najjemba M et al. Potential impact of midwives in preventing and reducing maternal and neonatal mortality and stillbirths: a Lives Saved Tool modelling study. Lancet Glob Health. 2021;9(1):e24–32 (https://doi.org/10.1016/s2214-109x(20)30397-1).
- United Nations Population Fund, World Health Organization, International Confederation of Midwives. The state of the world’s midwifery 2021: building a health workforce to meet the needs of women, newborns and adolescents everywhere. New York: United Nations Population Fund; 2021 (https://www.unfpa.org/publications/sowmy-2021).