UNFPA bewails lack of midwives in Phl

MANILA, Philippines - The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has sought increased investment in the midwifery service in the Philippines, citing the lack of midwives in underserved areas.

In a statement last week, the UNFPA said there is a need to professionalize midwifery training “by increasing investments in their education, training, and deployment to underserved areas where majority of maternal deaths occur.”

The UNFPA said 11 Filipino mothers die every day due to complications related to pregnancy and childbirth and “midwives are crucial to avert these deaths especially in rural and geographically isolated areas where they are most needed.”

While the ideal ratio of midwives to population is one per 4,000, the UNFPA said there are only around 17,000 midwives in the public health sector serving in 42,000 barangays.

Worldwide, there is a shortage of 350,000 professional midwives, it added.

“In hard-to-reach areas, midwives provide a valuable role in the safe delivery of babies and prevention of maternal deaths. But no matter how many birthing facilities there are in an area, they will remain just structures if we do not have trained midwives to attend to pregnant women and their newborns,” said UNFPA representative Ugochi Daniels.

“In countries that have achieved dramatic improvements in prevention of maternal deaths, professionally trained midwives have been a key to success,” Daniels added.