Implementing Professional Midwife-Led Maternity Care in India for Healthy Pregnant Women: A Community Case Study

Frontiers in Public Health

article

Andy Beckingham¹  Soo Downe²  Evita Fernandez¹  Becky Reed³  Indie Kaur¹  Nuzhat Aziz¹  Carol Kingdon² 

[1] Fernandez Foundation;UCLan THRIVE Centre, Research in Childbirth and Health ,(ReaCH) Unit, University of Central Lancashire;Midwife

关键词: midwifery;    LMICs;    India;    respectful maternity care;    care continuity;    midwifery education;    woman-centered care;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpubh.2022.875595

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

More women and neonates die each year in India than in almost every other country of the world. Since 1947, India has in principle provided free medical maternal health care to all pregnant and childbearing women. Although rates of maternal and neonatal deaths have fallen since the 1990s, major inequalities remain. Some Indian States have very high rates of interventions, (e.g., cesarean section), while others have intervention and care rates that are too low. Disrespectful treatment of women in labor and lack of evidence-based practice have also been reported. The World Health Organization and others have strongly recommended that professional midwives (trained in a woman-centered philosophy and to international standards) have a key role for reducing mortality and morbidity, minimizing unnecessary interventions in pregnancy and labor, and improving maternal care quality in low- and medium-income countries. This paper provides a community case-report of the first professional midwifery programme in India designed to international standards, implemented in 2011 in Hyderabad. We describe the design and implementation in the programme's first eleven years, as a basis for further scale-up and testing in India, and in other low- or medium-income countries. The ultimate aim is to improve maternal care quality, choice and outcomes in India and in similar socio-economic and cultural settings.

【 授权许可】

CC BY