Invest more on midwives: UNFPA

KATHMANDU, May 4 - United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has called on the governments to increase investments to train and retain midwives where they are most needed.
"By investing in midwives, governments can achieve universal access to reproductive health and the fifth Millennium Development Goal, to improve maternal health," UNFPA said in a statement issued on the eve of International Day of the Midwife.

When they are properly trained, empowered and supported, midwives offer the most cost-effective and high-quality path to maternal and newborn health, the statement said. Midwives provide care for women during pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period. In case of pregnancy complications and emergencies, midwives perform key life-saving functions. They offer reproductive health information and services, including family planning, which allows women to space their next birth, the statement added.

The statement said that there is an urgent need for 334,000 midwives around the world. And midwives need incentives to continue to work, often under difficult conditions, to save women's lives.

"In places where these services are widely available, accessible and affordable, maternal and newborn deaths are declining and the well-being of families and communities is improved," the statement quoted Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, UNFPA Executive Director, as saying.

There are only a few dozens of midwives in Nepal. According to the Ministry of Health and Population, the country needs 4,000 to 6,000 trained midwives to minimize maternal and child mortality.