Climate Change and Maternal Health: The Transformative Role of Midwives in Bangladesh

Midwives in Bangladesh are transforming maternal healthcare by ensuring that women receive quality, respectful, and life-saving care at the facility level. As frontline providers, they play a crucial role in delivering antenatal care, safe childbirth, postnatal services, family planning, and a broad spectrum of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services. However, their role becomes even more vital in the face of one of the biggest challenges of our time—climate change.

Bangladesh is one of the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world, frequently battered by floods, cyclones, and other natural disasters. These environmental crises have devastating consequences for maternal health, making access to care even more challenging. Pregnant women and new mothers face increased risks due to displacement, damaged healthcare facilities, shortages of medical supplies, and worsening socio-economic conditions. The compounding effects of climate change, gender inequality, and inadequate healthcare access place thousands of lives at stake. In the midst of these challenges, midwives stand as first responders, ensuring that women in the hardest-to-reach areas receive essential maternal and reproductive healthcare. Their role in humanitarian response, community outreach, and mobile SRH services has never been more critical.

The midwifery cadre in Bangladesh has significantly shifted the paradigm of maternity care at the facility level by providing skilled, respectful, and evidence-based care. Midwives work at the sub-district level healthcare facilities, where they perform antenatal care, assist with deliveries, provide postnatal care, and offer family planning counseling and services. Additionally, they deliver a wide range of SRH services, ensuring that women receive the care they need throughout pregnancy and beyond. However, climate-related disasters severely disrupt these essential services. When floods and cyclones strike, healthcare facilities are often damaged, supply chains are disrupted, and communities become isolated, making it difficult for women to access maternal care. Pregnant women are among the most vulnerable in these situations, facing increased risks due to limited healthcare access, inadequate nutrition, and exposure to unsafe living conditions. The lack of emergency obstetric care in disaster-stricken areas further escalates maternal morbidity and mortality rates.

Recognizing these challenges, midwives in Bangladesh have stepped up as key humanitarian responders. They have played a crucial role in reaching pregnant women and new mothers in crisis-affected areas, ensuring that they receive life-saving maternal and reproductive healthcare services. Their work extends beyond facilities—they engage in doorstep visits, mobile SRH camps, and community outreach programs to provide direct care where it is needed most. Midwives are not just healthcare providers; they are advocates for women’s health, gender equality, and disaster resilience. Their role in ensuring institutional deliveries, preventing maternal complications, and supporting family planning initiatives makes them indispensable in strengthening the healthcare system’s ability to withstand climate-related challenges.

In many disaster-affected areas, midwives also educate communities on maternal health, emergency preparedness, and gender-based violence (GBV) prevention, addressing critical social determinants of health that are often exacerbated by climate change. Their ability to build trust within communities makes them essential in driving behavioral change and promoting safer pregnancy and childbirth practices.

As Bangladesh continues to grapple with the growing threats of climate change, midwives have emerged as key responders in humanitarian crises, ensuring that maternal and reproductive healthcare remains accessible, even in the most challenging environments. Their ability to reach the most vulnerable women—whether in disaster-affected areas, remote communities, or displacement settings—makes them indispensable in building a resilient healthcare system. By actively engaging in community outreach, mobile SRH camps, and facility-based care, midwives bridge critical gaps in maternal health services, reduce the risk of complications, and promote safe childbirth. Their role in institutional deliveries, family planning, and gender-based violence response further strengthens healthcare systems, ensuring that women receive comprehensive, respectful, and high-quality care.

However, to maximize their impact, midwives must be fully integrated into national disaster preparedness strategies, emergency response mechanisms, and long-term climate adaptation policies. Strengthening midwifery training, investing in essential resources, and enhancing their leadership in humanitarian response will be crucial in mitigating the effects of climate change on maternal health. With the right support, midwives can save thousands of lives, proving that investing in this cadre is not just a necessity but a powerful solution to safeguarding maternal and reproductive health in Bangladesh’s changing climate landscape.