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International Day of the Midwife: A Global Call to Action
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“Today is the International Day of the Midwife, a day when we come together as a global health community to celebrate midwives, and the commitment of the midwifery profession globally to saving lives and upholding the rights of women to a safe and positive birth,” write the authors of the Global Call to Action: Protecting Midwives to Sustain Care for Women, Newborns and their Families in the COVID-19 Pandemic. Midwives are essential to the health and protection of women and newborns. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 83 percent of all maternal deaths, stillbirths, and newborn deaths could be averted with the full package of midwifery care.
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Listen to Midwives to Achieve Universal Health Coverage by 2030
›What is inherent in the word “universal,” is that it is for all women, said Anneka Knutsson, Chief of the Sexual and Reproductive Health Branch at the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), at a recent Wilson Center event on the importance of midwives in achieving universal health coverage. -
Midwives Needed to Achieve Universal Health Coverage by 2030
›We are in the decade of action, said Anneka Knutsson, Chief of the Sexual and Reproductive Health Branch at the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), at a recent Wilson Center event on midwives’ crucial role in achieving universal health coverage by 2030. The World Health Organization (WHO) has designated 2020 as the Year of the Nurse and the Midwife to celebrate the accomplishments and importance of nurses and midwives in providing not just maternal health care, but care across the lifespan. Currently, 22 million nurses and 2 million midwives globally deliver 80 percent of all healthcare services in low-resource settings. However, the world will need 9 million more nurses and midwives by 2030 to meet rising healthcare demands. -
To End Fistula by 2030, First Strengthen the Healthcare Workforce
›When childbirth takes place without skilled birth attendants or adequate emergency obstetric care, a woman may suffer from obstetric fistula. Women with fistula live with uncontrollable urinary and/or fecal incontinence, because a hole has formed between the birth canal and bladder or rectum. They have usually survived prolonged/obstructed labor, often lost their child to stillbirth, and frequently face severe social isolation and stigma. There are also now more and more women suffering from iatrogenic fistula caused by injuries during pelvic surgery, especially obstetric or gynecological surgery. Between 1 million and 2 million women currently need fistula repair, with thousands of new cases each year. However, most fistulas can be treated, enabling women to resume healthy, productive lives in their communities. Recognizing this, the United Nations has issued a call to end fistula by 2030. -
Savings Mothers, Giving Life Tackled Three Delays to Improve Maternal and Newborn Health
›“Saving Mothers, Giving Life has undeniably raised the bar in how we address maternal perinatal mortality,” said Dr. Florina Serbanescu, Team Lead of Global Reproductive Health Evidence for Action at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for the launch of the Global Health: Science and Practice Supplement on Saving Mothers, Giving Life at a recent Wilson Center event. Saving Mothers, Giving Life (SMGL), is a public-private partnership created to reduce maternal and newborn mortality in sub-Saharan African countries. “The achievements show that what is often seen as an intractable problem,” said Serbanescu, “can be addressed with the right leadership, resources, and political will.”
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Where Life Begins: Reducing Risky Births in a Refugee Camp
›Zaatari camp, the largest Syrian refugee camp in the world, sits less than 12 kilometers away from the border between Syria and northern Jordan. Rows of houses disappear into the desert, making it hard to tell where the camp begins and ends. Metal containers pieced together like patchwork are home to around 80,000 refugees. The remnants of tattered UNHCR tents cover holes in the walls. Almost seven years after the camp opened, this dusty sea of tin roofs has evolved into a permanent settlement.
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Saving Lives: Focusing on Outcomes to Improve Maternal and Newborn Healthcare Quality
›Poor quality care is now a bigger barrier to reducing mortality than insufficient access to healthcare, said Dr. Margaret Kruk, Chair of The Lancet Global Health Commission on High Quality Health Systems in the Sustainable Development Goal Era. She spoke at a recent Wilson Center event on strategies to improve and sustain high-quality reproductive, maternal, and newborn care at scale. “We estimate that 8.6 million lives are lost every year due to lack of access to high quality care, and of that 8.6 million, five million lives are lost by people who have already reached out to the health system.”
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Death From Delay: Improving Maternal Health Care in Conflict Zones
›How much time passes before a woman—or her relatives—decide to seek care or emergency medical services during pregnancy? It often depends on how much they know about the services available.This information may be hard to come by in conflict-affected areas, especially among internally displaced women. According to a retrospective study of health care during the 2006 war in Lebanon, 80 percent of Lebanese pregnant women before the war sought antenatal care, while the share of displaced women seeking care was only 34.5 percent.
Showing posts from category respectful care.
What is inherent in the word “universal,” is that it is for all women, said Anneka Knutsson, Chief of the Sexual and Reproductive Health Branch at the 
We are in the decade of action, said Anneka Knutsson, Chief of the Sexual and Reproductive Health Branch at the 
When childbirth takes place without skilled birth attendants or adequate emergency obstetric care, a woman may suffer from obstetric fistula. Women with fistula live with uncontrollable urinary and/or fecal incontinence, because a hole has formed between the birth canal and bladder or rectum. They have usually survived prolonged/obstructed labor, often lost their child to stillbirth, and frequently face severe social isolation and stigma. There are also now more and more women suffering from iatrogenic fistula caused by injuries during pelvic surgery, especially obstetric or gynecological surgery. Between 1 million and 2 million women currently need fistula repair, with thousands of new cases each year. However, most fistulas can be treated, enabling women to resume 
How much time passes before a woman—or her relatives—decide to seek care or emergency medical services during pregnancy? It often depends on how much they know about the services available.
