The Proof Is In The.......

“Midwifery is a vital solution to the challenges of providing high-quality maternal and newborn care for all women and newborn infants, in all countries”

The Above statement was made in "The Lancet"  a well respected medical journal.  

The Executive Summary had the following to say: 

• Midwifery matters more than ever
• The evidence examined in this Series suggests that midwifery is uniquely placed to contribute to the QMNC (quality maternal and newborn care) framework and to offer this combination of skills and relationship-based care, appropriate to the context and situation, and across the continuum.
• There are substantial health and well being benefits for women, mothers and their infants, as well as families, when high-quality midwifery care is delivered by midwives and others with midwifery skills. 
•  Analyses showed that outcomes improved by midwifery care include reduced maternal and newborn mortality, reduced stillbirth, reduced perineal trauma, reduced instrumental birth, reduced intra-partum analgesia or anaesthesia, less severe blood loss, fewer preterm births, fewer newborn infants with a low birth weight, and less hypothermia. The analyses also found increased spontaneous onset of labour, greater numbers of unassisted vaginal births, and increased rates of initiation and duration of breastfeeding. Increased referrals for pregnancy complications, fewer admissions to neonatal intensive care units, and shorter stays in neonatal units are examples of outcomes that indicate both improved care and resource use. Importantly, women reported a higher rate of satisfaction with care in general and with pain relief in labour in particular, and improved mother-baby interaction was also identified.
• To deliver high-quality care in all settings, health professionals and policy-makers need to create an environment where the 72 effective midwifery practices identified in this Series can be implemented in line with the woman-centred values and philosophy outlined in the QMNC framework. This is likely to have important economic effects, potentially reducing health spend, and increasing the sustainability of maternity care systems in the longer term. 
• Midwifery’s contribution to the survival, health, and wellbeing of childbearing women and newborn infants is demonstrated in the analysis of systematic reviews, case studies, and modelling of deaths averted that was done for this Series. Midwifery is a vital solution to the challenges of providing high-quality maternal and newborn care for all women and newborn infants, in all countries. 

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