IDM-2009

On Monday the 5th of May, midwives will celebrate throughout the world, reminding everyone of the important and unique role they play in society. Midwifery is one of the oldest professions. Besides their own mothers, the first human touch felt by most people, came from a midwife.
Where women are cared for by midwives during pregnancy and birth they experience less intervention and more positive outcomes, including greater satisfaction with their birth experiences. ‘Midwifery: a worldwide commitment to women and the newborn’. The world recognizes that without you [midwives], there can be no safe motherhood,” This statement comes at a time when the shortage of midwives is aninternational crisis.
In Afghanistan, increasingly childbearing women are being looked after by unskilled birth attendants, due to the shortage of midwives World wide, midwives remain women’s first choice for a skilled attendant at birth. The midwife is the only professional with the specialized skills to care for women from conception to early motherhood. Midwives are the biggest constant in childbearing women’s lives. They are recognized internationally by the World Health Organization as, “the most appropriate and cost effective type of health care provider to be assigned to the care of normal pregnancy and normal birth, including risk assessment and the recognition of complications.”