×

News publications and other organizations are encouraged to reuse Direct Relief-published content for free under a Creative Commons License (Attribution-Non-Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International), given the republisher complies with the requirements identified below.

When republishing:

  • Include a byline with the reporter’s name and Direct Relief in the following format: "Author Name, Direct Relief." If attribution in that format is not possible, include the following language at the top of the story: "This story was originally published by Direct Relief."
  • If publishing online, please link to the original URL of the story.
  • Maintain any tagline at the bottom of the story.
  • With Direct Relief's permission, news publications can make changes such as localizing the content for a particular area, using a different headline, or shortening story text. To confirm edits are acceptable, please check with Direct Relief by clicking this link.
  • If new content is added to the original story — for example, a comment from a local official — a note with language to the effect of the following must be included: "Additional reporting by [reporter and organization]."
  • If republished stories are shared on social media, Direct Relief appreciates being tagged in the posts:
    • Twitter (@DirectRelief)
    • Facebook (@DirectRelief)
    • Instagram (@DirectRelief)

Republishing Images:

Unless stated otherwise, images shot by Direct Relief may be republished for non-commercial purposes with proper attribution, given the republisher complies with the requirements identified below.

  • Maintain correct caption information.
  • Credit the photographer and Direct Relief in the caption. For example: "First and Last Name / Direct Relief."
  • Do not digitally alter images.

Direct Relief often contracts with freelance photographers who usually, but not always, allow their work to be published by Direct Relief’s media partners. Contact Direct Relief for permission to use images in which Direct Relief is not credited in the caption by clicking here.

Other Requirements:

  • Do not state or imply that donations to any third-party organization support Direct Relief's work.
  • Republishers may not sell Direct Relief's content.
  • Direct Relief's work is prohibited from populating web pages designed to improve rankings on search engines or solely to gain revenue from network-based advertisements.
  • Advance permission is required to translate Direct Relief's stories into a language different from the original language of publication. To inquire, contact us here.
  • If Direct Relief requests a change to or removal of republished Direct Relief content from a site or on-air, the republisher must comply.

For any additional questions about republishing Direct Relief content, please email the team here.

Celebrating Moms and Midwives Around the World

News

Maternal Health

A mother and baby spend time at the Danja Fistula Center in Southern Niger. Direct Relief is committed to supporting healthy births around the world, and is working to equip local healthcare providers. (Photo by William Vazquez)
By Staff

Pregnancy should be a time of joy and anticipation, but in too many parts of the world, it can be a life-threatening condition.

Midwives are the first line of assistance, providing high-quality care during routine deliveries and managing basic complications. They’re also trained to recognize when to refer a mother to emergency obstetric care.

Most obstetric complications could be prevented or managed if women had access to a doctor, nurse or midwife during childbirth, according to the World Health Organization.

But midwives can only do their work if they have the right tools.

Direct Relief’s Midwife Kit contains everything a midwife needs to deliver babies safely in almost any environment. Surgical instruments, sutures, IV sets, gloves, cord clamps, and more. Endorsed by the International Confederation of Midwives, the kit contains the 59 essential items a midwife needs to perform 50 facility-based safe births.

Indonesia

Healthcare providers with Bumi Sehat Foundation see the smallest patients on Oct. 16, 2018, at temporary clinic set up in Palu, Indonesia, to treat people displaced by last month’s devastating earthquake and tsunami. (Photo courtesy of Bumi Sehat Foundation)

In addition to the bringing more than 600 newborns into the world each year, the midwives of Bumi Sehat are often first responders after disasters occur in Indonesia. After Indonesia’s succession of devastating earthquakes in 2018, the team care for mothers and babies outside of hospital walls in the devastated communities of Palu and Lombok.

Syria

A newborn is cared for by staff at a Syrian American Medical Society facility in Idlib, Syria. (Photo courtesy of SAMS)

In a country where facility-based births are becoming less common due to internal conflict, the Syrian American Medical Society operates midwifery schools that offer the resources to perform safe births virtually anywhere.

Haiti

A midwife with Midwives for Haiti checks on a newborn. (Photo courtesy of Midwives for Haiti)

Haiti has the highest rates of maternal mortality in the Western Hemisphere, but groups like Midwives for Haiti are working to ensure that the country has a trained workforce of skilled birth attendants to oversee deliveries in the healthcare facility setting.

Bangladesh

A HOPE Hospital midwife treats a patients in HOPE’s Reproductive Health Center. Direct Relief is coordinating with HOPE Hospital in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, to establish field hospitals throughout settlements of Rohingya refugees. (Photo by Josh Estey for Hope for Bangladesh/Every Mother Counts)

Medical care for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh is extremely limited, with few places for women and children to receive medical treatment. That’s why Hope Foundation Hospital for Women and Children of Bangladesh is training local midwives to serve as the epicenter of maternal health in underserved communities.

Somaliland

Midwives with Edna Adan Maternity Hospital conduct patient intake inside a school converted into a temporary clinic in rural Somaliland. (Photo courtesy of Edna Adan)

With a mission to ensure mothers have access to a skilled birth attendant, Edna Adan University Hospital is working to train and dispatch 1,000 midwives throughout Somaliland.

Filed Under: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Giving is Good Medicine

You don't have to donate. That's why it's so extraordinary if you do.