A pandemic won’t stop a pregnant woman from giving birth or a baby with malaria from requiring care or a father with HIV from needing treatment. During the COVID-19 crisis, midwives and nurses around the world are delivering lifesaving care with commitment and courage, often in circumstances most anyone would find extremely challenging.

This week, on the occasions of International Day of the Midwife (May 5) and International Day of the Nurse (May 12), join us in thanking and supporting the millions of frontline health care providers who are marshaling their skills and infection prevention measures to keep women and families healthy and safe.

Afghan midwife Muzhda Rasooli suits up in protective gear to guide women in labor to a safe and healthy birth and provide the care newborns need to survive and thrive. “I am a midwife and I fight COVID-19,” she writes. “I keep motivating everyone to work without any delay and provide the services to mothers and newborns.”

Public health nurse Priscilla Ikparen mentors midwife Patricia Nwadike and other midwives in Nigeria about the importance of documenting women’s body mass index, blood pressure and blood sugar to prevent noncommunicable diseases that are increasingly contributing to women’s deaths. It’s a team effort: midwives help expectant mothers make lifestyle changes for healthier futures!

The frantic call came in just as Puja Malakar, a community health officer and nurse in northeastern India, was setting out to visit families quarantined at home because of the pandemic. Upon learning that a young woman in labor couldn’t get to a health facility, Malakar changed course and rushed to the woman’s side. She helped the woman give birth safely and waited for an ambulance to take mother and newborn to the primary health center before resuming her COVID-19 duties ... all in a day’s work.

Johns Hopkins University Affiliate

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