Safety from the Start

This year, the world observes World Patient Safety Day under the slogan “Patient safety from the start!”.

For millions of women around the world, “Safety from the Start” means choice and respect. And midwives are a key to making this safety a reality.

Safety begins well before birth. With sexual education and family planning, midwives help girls avoid early pregnancies and support women to plan and space their children. This gives mothers the chance to prepare, and babies the chance to arrive healthy and strong.

When we picture midwives, we often think only of birth. But their work extends far earlier—offering contraception services, counselling, comprehensive abortioncare and more. In fact, midwives can provide about 90% of sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn and adolescent health services.

When a woman decides when and how she wants to get pregnant, midwives walk beside her through pregnancy and beyond. This continuum of care is lifesaving and canensure safety from the very start of the family planning journey. Access to quality reproductive healthcare can reduce unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortions, and maternal deaths by two-thirds in low- and middle-income countries.  

Today, more than 218 million women want to avoid a pregnancy but are not using a modern method of contraception—universal access to midwives could help bridge that gap. In 2024 alone, contraceptive use prevented 143 million unintended pregnancies and averted 144,000 maternal deaths. Imagine how many more lives could be saved with universal access to midwifery care, as midwives are key providers of these services. Through the full continuum of their care, universal midwifery care could prevent 67% of maternal deaths, 64% of newborn deaths, and 65% of stillbirths.

Ensuring safety is also smart economics. Every dollar spent on midwives and family planning returns multiple times in health, education, and economic gains. For instance, each dollar invested in midwives yields a 16-fold return, while meeting the unmet need for family planning generates $120 in health and economic benefits. Midwives, who deliver the majority of these services in many countries, are both lifesaving and cost‑saving.

That’s why FP2030’s Made Possible by Family Planning Campaign and the International Confederation of Midwives’ PUSH Campaign are collaborating to create Made Possible by Midwives: real stories of what happens when women and families have access to contraception and midwifery care—and what’s lost when they don’t.

This storytelling series is more than words. It’s a call to action. Governments must invest in midwives and family planning. International donors must step up. And all of us—women, midwives, communities—can raise our voices and share our stories.

Here’s where you come in: Share your story. Tell us what was made possible by a midwife in your life, your family, or your community. And if you are a midwife, tell us what you have seen made possible by family planning.

-           EN: https://zfrmz.eu/GrF6RDgsVzbHaozap4MC

-           FR: https://zfrmz.eu/WcmWogAmMshbLMfnZ6eV

-           SP: https://zfrmz.eu/KUlYa3gwU0kdhYai2wuS

Stories are more than anecdotes - they are proof. They show that midwives are essential, that family planning is a right, and that safe care truly starts from the very beginning.

Use the hashtags #MadePossibleByFP and #PUSHforMidwives. On World Patient Safety Day, 17 September, help us advocate for safe care from the start!