The World Health Organization (WHO) today released new guidance to help countries adopt and expand midwifery models of care - where midwives serve as the main care provider for women and babies throughout pregnancy, childbirth, and the postnatal period.

The guidance promotes strong communication and partnership between women and midwives, and offers proven health benefits for both women and their babies. Women who received care from trusted midwives are statistically more likely to experience healthy vaginal births and report higher satisfaction with the services they receive.

“Expanding and investing in midwifery models of care is one of the most effective strategies to improve maternal and newborn health globally,” said Dr Anshu Banerjee, Director for Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing at WHO. “These approaches improve outcomes, maximize resources, and can be adapted to all countries. Crucially, they also enhance women’s and families’ experiences of care– building trusted partnerships for health at this critical life stage.”