The Midwifery Approach to Primary Healthcare: From Survival to Dignity

The maternal mortality ratio (MMR) is a critical indicator of a country's health status and progress toward universal health coverage.As the maternal mortality of India continues to reduce, showing the remarkable progress in health service delivery, regional disparities persist.It becomes even more pronounced among women from marginalized social groups.As survival has improved, focus should now shift to improving the qualitative aspects of care: Respecting the dignity of women, ensuring equal treatment across all social groups, enhancing childbirth experiences, and reducing morbidity.This paper reviews the role of midwifery-led care in improving the quality of maternal health and offering a continuum of care, particularly for the vulnerable population.It tries to explore different models of midwifery care across different aspects and the way they can be replicated in a lower-middle-income setting.Beyond clinical practice, it also highlights the importance of strengthening the quality of midwifery education and greater representation within the health system.This becomes more relevant given the Indian Government has recently introduced the National Nursing and Midwifery Commission (NNMC) Bill, 2023.Along with that, the World Health Organization (WHO) also acknowledges midwives' indispensable role in improving the maternal health of a country.When positioned as leaders of maternal primary healthcare, midwives can accelerate our progress toward sustainable development goals (SDG) 3 and 5 by providing crucial services required in reducing maternal and infant mortality rates.