International Day of the Midwife is a reminder that improving maternal health is not only about increasing the number of midwives. It is also about strengthening the systems around them so more women can be reached earlier, supported better, and guided with trust.
At CIRCLE Baji, our recent focus group discussions on maternal health revealed a clear pattern: for many women in urban underserved communities, knowledge arrives too late. Pregnancy is often understood reactively, through missed periods, family whispers, or emergency situations, rather than through timely, preventive guidance.
The findings also showed that maternal health is not only a clinical issue. It is deeply shaped by mental health, family dynamics, access barriers, and fractured trust in care. Women described anxiety, isolation, misinformation, dismissive healthcare experiences, and in some cases life-threatening delays in reaching qualified facilities. For many, the biggest gaps were not just medical, but emotional and informational.
This is where stronger systems matter.
Midwives remain one of the most important and trusted links in women’s health journeys. But they cannot work at full potential without better tools, better information flows, and more continuous support around them.
This is where CIRCLE Baji operates. Our WhatsApp-based platform provides women with accessible, culturally relevant guidance in simple Urdu, meeting them where they already are, in a channel they already trust. Beyond information, the platform creates pathways for earlier awareness, mental health support, emergency preparedness, and warm referrals to qualified care. For midwives and Lady Health Workers, this means women arriving better informed, more prepared, and more likely to follow through on the guidance they receive.
If we want one million more midwives to make a real difference, we must also build the systems that help them reach one million more women.