missing midwives

Save the Children have just put out a new report on the 'missing midwives' and the implications that result from a lack of midwives. A quote from it:

The global shortage of 350,000 midwives means that many women and babies die from complications that could easily be prevented by a health worker with the right skills, the right equipment and the right support. There are 358,000 maternal deaths annually, and more than 800,000 babies die during childbirth each year. Millions more newborn lives are lost in the first month of life. If births were routinely attended by midwives and skilled birth attendants with the right training and support, the lives of 1.3 million newborn babies a year could be saved.

Good to know someone values midwives :-)

Link: http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/en/docs/Missing_Midwives.pdf