"If I had left, a mother or a baby could have died. I stayed because people, especially pregnant women, needed my support. I was worried, but I couldn’t leave because people needed our services – pregnant women were worried about where to deliver as health facilities were closing. So I didn’t close the family health house."

These powerful words from Mariza Ahmadi, an extraordinary midwife in Afghanistan, show the courage and dedication that define midwives around the world.

On this International Day of the Midwife, we turn our focus to these lifesaving heroes — those who remain on the frontline amidst crisis, ensuring the health and wellbeing of women and newborn babies delivering new life, hope, and stability.

Midwives are often the first — and only — responders delivering lifesaving care to pregnant women and their newborns during a crisis, reaching them in the most dangerous and remote areas.

When crises strike and systems break down, midwives step up. But without significantly expanding midwifery, more women will die in childbirth. Millions of stories will have no heroes, and instead end in tragedy. Make an emergency gift that will have twice the impact toward training more midwives and supplying the birth resources they desperately need.

In regions facing crises, such as Gaza, midwives continue their vital work amid an unrelenting war. Despite the turmoil and harm they could face, they remain dedicated to bringing safe deliveries to mothers in need, sharing moments that can only be described as miraculous against the odds.

Every donation made from now until Mother’s Day is doubled, which can give midwives two times the resources and training necessary to continue their often dangerous yet vital work. More trained midwives leads to more successful and healthy births, bringing hope to the world's most vulnerable mothers and infants.

Join us in supporting these frontline heroes. Double your impact and help transform lives:

Make your support for midwives, mothers, girls, and babies go further with a donation that will be doubled today. Midwives deserve whatever support and hope we can provide. Please send your support for midwives who have courage, compassion, and dedication to safeguarding mothers and newborns, no matter how challenging the environment.

This Mother’s Day season, thank you for honoring and investing in the tireless efforts of midwives everywhere. Together, we can ensure every birth is safe and every newborn begins with the love and care it deserves.

With hope amidst crisis,

— USA for UNFPA