5 May, 2025: Celebrate the International Day of the Midwife
The theme for this year’s International Day of the Midwife (IDM) is Midwives: Critical in Every Crisis. Join us in supporting the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) to advocate for stronger health systems that recognise, include, and enable midwives to deliver lifesaving care when it is needed most.
Sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn, and adolescent health (SRMNAH) needs persist, and often worsen during crises, disproportionately affecting women, girls, and gender diverse people. They face heightened risks, including complications from pregnancy, increased exposure to sexual violence, and limited access to essential care. Midwives are crucial in these settings; they can provide up to 90% of SRMNAH services. Their role includes:
- Providing antenatal and postnatal care
- Ensuring safe births and managing complications, including support and management of pregnancy loss
- Supporting mothers to initiate and continue breastfeeding
- Offering contraception and comprehensive abortion care
- Respond to Gender Based Violence
- Recognise and address the specific mental health and psycho-social needs of women and newborns
Take action:
Here are some of the ways you can engage:
- Share messages from the International Confederation of Midwives on why and how midwives should be included in every step of crisis preparedness, planning and response. Access the ICM Advocacy Toolkit and Resources Pack
- Join the ICM immersive event on 5 May, 2-6pm CEST for an engaging and interactive exploration of midwives’ indispensable role in humanitarian settings. You can join at a time that suits you best and attend the full event or just a session. See the agenda.
- Join the World Health Organization’s webinar celebrating the International Day of the Midwife on 5 May, 11-12pm CEST. This event will highlight midwifery models of care in humanitarian settings. It will showcase implementation research from Ethiopia on the delivery and impact of maternal health services by midwives in conflict-affected areas. See the agenda.
- Join the call to action to invest in midwifery care to save and transform the lives of women and their newborns around the world, with the Midwifery Accelerator, launched by UNFPA, the International Confederation of Midwives, UNICEF, Jhpiego, the World Health Organization and other global partners.
- Learn about the benefits of midwifery models of care for the survival, health and well-being of women and newborns, with the World Health Organization’s ‘Transitioning to Midwifery Models of Care: Global Position Paper‘.
