Facebook Youtube Linkedin

Every Woman Every Newborn EverywherE
Healthy Futures

Our Focus

Health workforce- Midwifery

©UNFPA/Rada Akbar.
Samira, a midwife, gives health advice to a patient in Foladi clinic in October 2016 in Bamyan, Afghanistan.

Supporting midwifery and midwifery models of care

Midwifery and midwifery models of care are essential to improve maternal and newborn health and prevent stillbirths.  The 2024 World Health Organization Transitioning to midwifery models of care: global position paper collates  inputs of over 100 individuals and organisations and defines midwifery models of care. 

Implementation guidance is forthcoming. 

©UNFPA/Lisa Thanner.
A midwife is presenting a newborn to the mother at Panzi Hospital in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in January 2022.

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. 

©UNFPA.
Pregnant women doing balance ball exercises with a midwife in a health facility in China.

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.

©UNFPA.
A woman receives midwifery care during pregnancy in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic in September 2017.

Currently, there are 2.5 million midwives in 177 countries. But many more are needed: there is a shortage of 900,000 midwives worldwide.

See the Global position paper on midwifery modes of care

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).

©WHO/Faizza Tanggol>
Maternal and Child Health Nurse Temalesi Lalabalavu helps soothe a baby after administering a vaccine, as part of the National Immunization Programme in Fiji., in October 2023.

News and events

Load More

Resources

View Resources

Strengthening Implementation of Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response (MPDSR): Moving from Data to Action

A new BMC supplement on Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response (MPDSR) looks at what implementation looks like in practice, highlighting research and programmatic insights from low- and middle-income countries working to improve MPDSR systems at national and subnational levels.The supplement ‘Strengthening Implementation of Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response (MPDSR): Moving from Data to Action’ features studies that explore:

 • Rapid MPDSR tools in humanitarian crises (Tigray, Ethiopia)
 • Community engagement to reduce blame and build trust
 • The economic case for investing in MPDSR
 • Country experiences from Nigeria, North Macedonia, and Sri Lanka
 • Measuring implementation progress in Uganda

Additional papers will be published on a rolling basis through 2025.

View Resource

Consolidated guidelines for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of postpartum haemorrhage

Published by the World Health Organization, the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) and the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM), the guidelines highlight the urgent need for earlier detection and faster intervention for PPH. They focus on the care of women during pregnancy, childbirth and the immediate postpartum period in any health care setting.

View Resource

Compendium on respectful maternal and newborn care

The compendium supports efforts to end mistreatment and achieve respectful maternal and newborn care. It is published by WHO together with UNFPA, UNICEF and the United Nations’ Special Programme on Human Reproduction (HRP), with support from Jhpiego and the MOMENTUM Country and Global Leadership programme. 

The purpose of the compendium is to consolidate key evidence, tools and resources to support the practical implementation of respectful maternal and newborn care across different contexts. It provides programme managers with essential background to build a foundational understanding of mistreatment and respectful care. As such, it serves as a comprehensive resource that integrates theory with practice.

View Resource

Explore further and accelerate change

Quality of care

Health workforce – Midwifery

Commodities

Every Woman Every Newborn EverywherE
Healthy Futures

Get Involved

You can help us give mothers and their babies the best chance at life.

Follow us

Facebook X-twitter Youtube

Contact us

Email

Photo © 2020 WHO / Tatiana Almeida
Midwives during WHO Head of Sub-Office Dr Kai von Harbou visit to Hope Field Hospital

© 2024 ENAP EPMM | Privacy Policy | Website by Blick Creative