Scaling up care by midwives must now be a global priority

Midwives have the potential to save lives of women and children at a scale unmatched by other health interventions. In The Lancet Global Health, Andrea Nove and colleagues1 estimated that 67% of maternal deaths, 64% of neonatal deaths, and 65% of stillbirths in the 88 low-income and middle-income countries accounting for the vast majority of these deaths could be averted. The solution? Universal provision of care by midwives who meet international standards and are integrated into health systems in the context of multidisciplinary teams.