The Wire

Aid agency Save the Children are calling for more women in frontline health services worldwide to combat maternal and infant mortalities. Annually 8.8 million children die before reaching age five, with 350 000 women dying from pregnancy complications or childbirth. The annual State of the World’s Mothers report suggests that more female doctors, nurses and midwives is the key to dramatically reducing the huge numbers of preventable deaths. In Australia, more midwives, especially in Indigenous communities, could be the key to combating our own high infant mortality rate.