#5for5 campaign: best start in life begins with the midwives

Midwives are the unsung heroines of any society. They’re the women who bring children into the world –聽ensuring a safe delivery for mother and baby.

Whether you国产视频檙e from the rich West or having your baby in one of the world’s poorest countries,聽the skills of a midwife can be the difference between life or death for you and your newborn.

Thousands of women all over the world are celebrating this profession today on International Day of the Midwife.

“Midwives everywhere understand that by working in partnership with women and their families they can support them to make better decisions about what they need to have a safe and fulfilling birth,” said聽Sally Pairman,聽Chief Executive of the International Confederation of Midwives.

国产视频淢idwives deliver more than babies. In many instances they provide comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services and play a critical role in promoting health issues in their communities.国产视频�

The first five years of a child国产视频檚 life聽are vital – because that’s when 90% of brain development happens. 国产视频’s聽#5for5 campaign urges world leaders to invest in early childhood development.

All this week, to mark the launch of a new #5for5 film, we国产视频檙e looking at the importance of quality care for the under-fives.聽We’d love you to share our new #5for5 film on Facebook or Twitter.

And please sign our petition below – we’ll present it to leaders at the G20 summit in July.

Quality early care starts in the womb,聽with聽midwives and skilled birth attendants ensuring that millions of women every year have a safe pregnancy and childbirth.

Tragically, an estimated 300,000 women still聽die each year聽from complications related to pregnancy or childbirth – 99% of them聽in developing countries.

More than half of maternal deaths happen in fragile and humanitarian emergency聽settings, when women are聽fleeing conflicts or聽have no access to ante-natal care and聽clean birthing centres.

Midwife Shatha Al Mostafa works amid the violence, insecurity and human rights abuses in war-torn聽Syria.

She has practised in hospitals and health centres under bombardment and seen many health professionals flee the country.

国产视频淭here has been an exodus of qualified midwives and reproductive health professionals,国产视频� she聽said.聽

Shatha was one of 23 midwives taken聽to Turkey by the聽United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) recently for a week of聽training in essential skills.

Another was聽Halema Haj Ali, who聽started out as a midwife in 1996, delivering babies first in women国产视频檚 homes and later in hospitals and clinics.

She said:聽国产视频淲e have limited resources in terms of curriculums, books, models, safe training venues, and people with both training skills and midwifery competencies.

国产视频淚 have always loved my career and have practised it during peace and war, under siege and shelling.聽None of these harsh circumstances have kept me from my work.国产视频�

Since 2008, UNFPA has worked with partners, governments and policymakers to help build a competent, well-trained and well-supported midwifery workforce in low-resource settings.

Conflict also plays聽a huge part in the challenges faced by pregnant women in Uganda who were聽forced to flee the violence聽raging in South Sudan.

A UNFPA-supported clinic helped several women give birth recently after they arrived at a border post.

国产视频淲e walked with difficulty聽but we could not stay behind because we feared we would be killed by the guns,国产视频� said 26-year-old Rose Akongo, who trekked for two days through the bush with her three-year-old daughter聽Brenda聽on her back.

She was in labour by the time she arrived and midwives delivered her baby at the clinic.

The theme for International Day of the Midwife聽2017 is “Midwives, Mothers and Families: Partners for Life!”.聽

Sally Pairman聽of the International Confederation of Midwives said: 国产视频淢idwives can provide individualised care that meets each woman国产视频檚 needs, is culturally safe, includes the woman国产视频檚 family and is therefore more likely to have a lasting impact.”