Hyderabad, May 05: On the International Day of the Midwife, Fernandez Hospital celebrated the power and impact of midwifery through a series of on-ground and digital initiatives held over two days, 4th and 5th May, across its facilities, under the theme “This Is How We Care.”
This year’s celebration brought to life Fernandez’s distinctive model of collaborative care, where obstetricians and midwives work with mutual respect and trust, along with allied specialists when required.
Across all facilities, dedicated Midwife Stations were set up to help families understand the role of midwives. Visitors participated in interactive puzzles and games, guided tours of the midwife-led birthing rooms, and accessed educational materials on midwifery care, enabling them to make informed choices about childbirth.
A digital storytelling series further amplified these efforts, featuring doctors, midwives, and mothers, alongside virtual tours of midwife-led units, offering a deeper understanding of how collaborative maternity care is delivered.
Proven Outcomes from Collaborative Model of Care
At the Midwife-Led Unit (MLU) set up in 2019 in Bogulkunta, 2,262 women were cared for through this collaborative model, resulting in:
- ·94% vaginal birth rate (including spontaneous and assisted births)
- ·Only 6% caesarean section rate within the MLU pathway, demonstrating effective clinical selection, continuous labour support, and reduced unnecessary interventions
These outcomes underscore how collaborative care can improve birth experiences while maintaining clinical safety.
Leading Midwifery in India
Fernandez Foundation has played a pioneering role in introducing and strengthening professional midwifery in Telangana and India. Its midwifery journey began with a pilot in 2011, evolving into a structured initiative focused on training, advocacy, and system-level integration.
Through the Fernandez Midwifery Initiative, the Foundation has worked closely with government partners, including the Government of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, to build a skilled midwifery workforce and embed midwifery within public health systems.
The Foundation’s education programmes, including the Nurse Practitioner in Midwifery (NPM) and Nurse Practitioner Midwifery Educator (NPME) pathways, are designed to prepare nurses with advanced skills to provide high-quality maternal and newborn care across all levels of the health system.
To date, Fernandez has trained over 81 midwifery educators (NPMEs) from Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, and 353 professional midwives from Telangana, many of whom are now working across hospital and public health settings, helping expand access to respectful and evidence-based maternity care.
“Midwifery is not an alternative, it is essential,” said Dr Evita Fernandez, Chairperson and Managing Director, Fernandez Foundation. “Our model brings together the strengths of obstetrics and midwifery to create a system that is safe, collaborative, and centred on the woman. This is how we strive to care for every woman, every birth.”
Through its International Day of the Midwife initiatives, Fernandez Hospital aimed to:
- ·Increase awareness of collaborative care models
- ·Highlight the role of midwives in improving maternal and newborn outcomes
- ·Encourage women and families to make informed, empowered choices
