Lancet Series On Midwifery: Women Should Be in the Heart of Decision-Making

Co-authored by Sheetal Sharma. Petra ten Hoope-Bender: Director of Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, ICS Integrare

I leave you with a heartening quote from His Highness, the Aga Khan, when speaking at the recent maternal and newborn health conference in Toronto to illustrate my confidence that this change is on its way. He said, “In no other development field is the potential leverage for progress greater than in the field of maternal and newborn health… Our challenge — as always — is a balance [between] honest realism with hopeful optimism.”

My life has been quite a roller coaster recently. After many long years of advocating for high-quality maternal and newborn care for any woman anywhere, I see a positive change in how seriously the world takes this issue.

I am proud to have played my part in this change of status for mothers and their babies. I have been working as the coordinator for the Lancet Midwifery Series, which was launched in London on June 23, 2014. This collaboration — supported by The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation — advocates for developing midwifery services at scale.

Click here to read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/petra-ten-hoopebender/lancet-special-series-on-_b_5523043.html

ALL RELATED: https://ismailimail.wordpress.com/tag/women-child-summit/