“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.

Covid-19 is stressing health care systems around the world. Historically, evidence shows that the de-prioritization of maternal health services during previous disease outbreaks led to increased maternal and newborn deaths, and increased stillbirths. As with previous health crises, resources and attention to maternal and newborn care are being re-directed to support the Covid-19 response. Yet, the need for a healthy workforce of midwives to serve women and families is paramount during this pandemic. Midwife Associations from all over the world are reporting “harrowing” challenges faced by midwives working on the frontlines, including increased harassment, violence, gender discrimination, misinformation and fear spreading, human rights abuses, and over medicalization of births. Midwives must be protected to provide essential maternal health services, while also maintaining their own health. Failure to do so could lead to poor maternal health outcomes as well as expose midwives to Covid-19 transmission.  

2020 is the Year of the Nurse and the Midwife, and the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM), in partnership with UNFPA and others, is “uniting in solidarity with their global midwife workforce to launch a series of calls to action for governments, decision makers, donors and health institutions to ensure the protection of midwives, women, and newborns during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Launched today, the Global Call to Action includes six recommendations for policymakers to protect pregnant women, newborns, and the midwives providing them care:

1. Ensure equitable availability of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for midwives, regardless of their work environment, supported by additional training on correct and appropriate usage of PPE. 
2. Include midwives in policy, decision-making, planning, and response to COVID-19.
3. Stop the re-deployment of midwives to areas outside their scope of practice and ensure the quality of midwifery care.
4. Protect pregnant women and their newborns and uphold their right to a positive birthing experience by allowing a birth companion of choice and not separating the woman and her baby. 
5. Uphold women’s sexual and reproductive rights by including, for example, access to essential contraceptives, comprehensive post-abortion care, and other services that have been disrupted or stopped.
6. Prioritise funding for maternal health services.

Additional resources:

• Media Release: International Day of the Midwife 
• International Day of the Midwife Video
• The Courage of Iran’s Midwives: Happy Midwives’ Day
• The Courage of Iran’s Midwives: Those Who Lost their Lives