Recognising International Day of the Midwife: 100 Years of Progress
Medela is proud to honour International Day of the Midwife by recognizing the importance of advocating for quality midwifery care around the globe while improving reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health in the process.
Today, we observe #IDM2022 while reflecting on the support and protection that midwives provide to moms and babies every day. In alignment with this year’s campaign theme of 100 Years of Progress and as members of the United Nations Global Compact, Medela is focused on building upon our ongoing commitment to improving maternal and infant health outcomes and advocating for breastfeeding as a crucial key for sustainable development.
- By joining forces in 2021 with Laerdal Global Health, we have created an impactful partnership providing a highly effective, low-cost solution for midwives and caregivers who practice in challenging conditions. Starting in Tanzania and extending into other Sub-Saharan areas, our partnership is in the process of training 390 midwives with a vacuum-assisted birth (VAB) training package – designed for midwives and caregivers to better assist birthing women experiencing complications and to safely perform vacuum-assisted delivery when needed – within the first three years.
By finding actionable ways to help combat maternal mortality through product, educational materials, and training in vacuum-assisted delivery to local midwives in select remote locations, Medela is increasing the quality of care for moms and babies in need while maximizing access to quality healthcare, education, and resources. - In 2021, we also partnered with the Wellbeing Foundation Africa to improve global breastfeeding rates through better support offered to new mothers in Nigeria, including NICU-specific education, training on the value of human milk, and best practices for building an efficient breast milk supply to support long-term breastfeeding. Through better, dedicated lactation care for mothers in Nigeria, our organization will help improve infant feeding and health outcomes in a country with an alarmingly high infant mortality rate and one of the lowest breastfeeding rates around the globe. Collaborating with like-minded organizations, like the WBFA, will meet the WHO global nutrition targets of reaching at least 50% improvement by 2025 through increasing the rate of exclusive breastfeeding in the first 6 months.
For more information, please read about our Medela Cares goals by viewing our annual Communications of Progress report.
