May 5th, 2021: International Day of the Midwife

International Day of the Midwife (IDM) occurs annually on May 5th. For this year’s IDM, we celebrated under the theme “Follow the Data: Invest in Midwives“.

Highlighting the important role that midwives play in improving sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health (SRMNAH), the United Nations Population Fund (UNPFA), World Health Organization (WHO), and the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) co-led a report that shows the progress and analysis of the impact of midwives on maternal and newborn health in 194 countries.

Globally, there is a shortage of 900,000 midwives. In Canada, it is estimated that approximately 9,000 midwives by 2030 will be needed to meet the sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health needs. Read the report on Canada’s profile and how it can be used to inform policy discussions.

Read the 2021 State of the World’s Midwifery report here.