International Midwives Day, May 5th

The Road to Durban: Midwives Walking for the Women of the World

Last year Bridget Lynch, President of the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM), called on the midwives of the world to attend the triennial ICM Congress to be held in Durban, South Africa in June 2011. The ICM also called on 99 member associations in 88 countries representing more than 250,000 midwives to organize 5 kilometer walks in cities and towns across the world on International Midwives Day, May 5. On June 18 when the midwives of the world gather for the ICM Congress, they will complete the walk into the city of Durban in celebration of our commitment to improving maternal and newborn health globally. 

This is the first time in the ICM's history the Congress is being held in sub-Saharan Africa. This is a particularly significant opportunity for the ICM to bring visibility to midwives. The Congress will be taking place in an area of the world with the highest rates of maternal and newborn morbidity and mortality. With only five years left to achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goals and improve maternal and newborn health globally, now is the time to highlight the central role of midwives in achieving these goals! In locations across the globe today, midwives and midwifery supporters are "Walking the Road to Durban" in solidarity. http://www.midwives2011.org/Congress/TheRoadtoDurban.aspx

Bringing the Message Home in the United States

Women in the U.S. are more likely to die of pregnancy-related complications than in 49 other countries, including nearly all European countries, Canada, and several countries in Asia and the Middle East. Worse yet, the maternal mortality ratio for American Indian/Alaska Native women is four times higher than the Healthy People 2010 goal (the national target set by the government) and eight times higher for African American women. Maternal mortality is the death of a woman during or shortly after a pregnancy (up to 42 days postpartum) and is calculated as the number of maternal deaths per one hundred thousand live births. The U.S. average rate was reported to be 13.3 deaths per 100,000 lives births according to Amnesty International's 2010 report, "Deadly Delivery: The Maternal Health Care Crisis in the USA." 

In some places, and among some populations, maternal mortality is much higher. For example, in the state of Georgia the rate is 20.5 deaths per 100,000 births; in Washington, D.C., it is 34.9 deaths per 100,000 births; and in New York City, the ratio for Black women is 83.6 deaths per 100,000 live births, according to Amnesty International's report. 

More Midwives Mean Better Outcomes  

As the ICM points out, "The world needs midwives now more than ever." It is becoming increasingly clear that midwifery can be a solution to the outrageous statistics that continue to plague a nation that spends billions of health care dollars on maternity services alone. America also needs midwives now more than ever.

Today in Austin, many midwives, mamas, babies, and families met at Town Lake and walked the beginning of the "Road to Durban", promoting midwifery care as The Gold Standard in maternal/child healthcare in the US and around the world.