Bangladesh needs more midwives

Safe motherhood helps women receive the care they need to be safe and healthy throughout pregnancy and childbirth. It is not a privilege. Rather, it should be considered as a right for every woman. According to UN and WHO, every day around 800 women give up their life in the process of giving us a new life. And in Bangladesh, we can be proud of the remarkable progress made on the maternal health front. Despite this, every year some 10,000 women reportedly die in the country due to pregnancy or pregnancy-related causes.

Midwives play a crucial role in the health and wellbeing of mothers and their new-born. Their role is even more important in a country like Bangladesh where it is estimated that around 400 births take place every hour. They have helped improve women's access to safe childbirth, especially in rural areas. Around 3,000 midwives are reportedly deployed in upazila health complexes across the country. Although trained midwives have greatly contributed to the reduction of maternal and new-born deaths, as well as caesarean section rates in Bangladesh, their number is still inadequate to cover the entire country. According to the Bangladesh Nursing and Midwifery, there are currently about 7,122 registered midwives to look after an estimated 3.5 million pregnant women a year. We hope the authorities concerned will engage more midwives particularly in remote rural areas.

Afroza Sheikh,

Dania, Dhaka,

ilcbd2008@gmail.com