Family Contraception: The Vital Role of Midwives and Male Participation
The World Health Organization has called for the urgent expansion of midwifery worldwide, recognizing midwives as essential to improving maternal, newborn, and family health. But as we work toward this goal, it is critical that we also evolve our understanding of contraception, not as a woman’s burden, but as a family responsibility.
Midwives are uniquely positioned to lead this movement. Across the world — in cities, villages, and the most remote communities — midwives are often the first and only trusted health professionals families encounter. Through prenatal care, childbirth, newborn care, and follow-up, midwives build lasting relationships with both women and men. Their advice is trusted. Their voice carries weight. When midwives speak to men about their role in family wellbeing, men listen.
This trust opens the door for vital conversations — not only about pregnancy and birth but about contraception as a shared responsibility. In many communities, where access to healthcare is limited and unintended pregnancies are common, midwives provide essential education about all contraception options, including vasectomy — a safe, simple, outpatient procedure that gives men the opportunity to actively participate in shaping their family’s future.
If we want healthier families, empowered women, responsible men, and thriving communities, we must embrace Family Contraception as a comprehensive, inclusive approach. Expanding the global midwifery workforce and promoting male contraception are not separate goals — they are two sides of the same solution.
World Vasectomy Day is proud to stand alongside WHO in this mission, advocating for the expansion of midwives around the world and integration of male contraception, especially vasectomy, as an essential part of what we call Family Contraception.
Together, World Vasectomy Day and WHO can build a future where every family has the information, resources, and support to make informed decisions — a future where midwives and male partners work side by side to strengthen the foundation of family health.
