coluna_esquerda_imagemBan Ki-moon, Secretary General of the United Nations, says in the foreword of this important document, “We know what is needed to make pregnancy and delivery safe: access to health services, including skilled birth attendants and a functioning health care facility.”

“We also know it is possible to mobilize the leadership and action needed to provide these services to every expecting woman and her baby. At the launch of the Global Strategy, numerous developing countries demonstrated great political will — backed by new commitments — to scale-up the number of skilled birth attendants and provide the midwifery services that women need through- out their reproductive years.

“The State of the World’s Midwifery 2011 — the first of its kind — takes stock of the practice in 58 countries. Collectively, they represent 91 percent of global maternal deaths. Using fresh data, information and analysis, the report identifies common challenges within and among countries while highlighting promising approaches to strengthen midwifery services around the world.

“The report focuses on the critical early period when deaths can be averted. It is an important companion to other efforts aimed at rigorously measuring action and results, including the Global Strategy and the report of the Commission on Information and Accountability for Women’s and Children’s Health.”

The document, sponsored by the United Nations, can be read in its entirety at http://www.unfpa.org/sowmy/resources/en/main.htm.  You can find statistics on the status of midwifery in most countries, developing and developed, around the world.