Definitions

Clear definitions are key to clear understanding. Learn more about the terms, roles, and categories used on the Midwives’ Data Hub.

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Data Themes

The data in the Midwives’ Data Hub is organised into themes that reflect the interconnected factors influencing midwifery practice and sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn and adolescent health. Explore these categories to better understand how midwifery education, policy, and practice shape health outcomes globally.

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  • Maternal and newborn health outcomes and service coverage

    This data theme includes key health indicators for women and newborns, such as maternal deaths, newborn deaths, and stillbirths. Data included in this theme also tracks access to care, including antenatal visits, skilled birth attendance, and emergency services. These indicators help show how well the health system is working and the role midwives play in improving outcomes.

  • Midwifery workforce and model of care

    This data theme includes information about the number of midwives, where they work, and their working conditions. It also looks at how care is delivered – such as whether midwives support patients across the full continuum of reproductive health. Data included in this theme highlights whether midwives are enabled to work independently and provide respectful, woman-centered care aligned with global standards.

  • ICM Essential Competencies

    This data theme explores how midwives are educated, certified, and supported to meet global standards. Indicators included are education programmes, continuing professional development, and alignment with the ICM Essential Competencies for Midwifery Practice. These competencies define the knowledge, skills, and professional behaviours required for midwives to provide quality, rights-based care across the reproductive lifecycle.

  • Enabling environment and leadership

    Midwives need supportive systems to practise effectively. This data theme covers policies, laws, regulation, financing, data systems, and leadership pathways that enable midwives to deliver care aligned with ICM’s Professional Framework. Data indicators included highlight whether midwives are integrated into decision-making, supported by national policies, and able to work to their full scope of practise in safe, respectful environments.

Data Definitions

This section provides clear definitions of key terms from open data indicators featured on the Midwives’ Data Hub, helping users understand what each indicator measures.

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  • Country

    Short name for the country. 195 countries in total – all 194 WHO member states plus Palestine.

  • Date

    Date data uploaded to the Hub.

  • International organization for standardization (ISO) 2 and 3

    Two or three-digit alphabetical codes International Standard ISO 3166-1 assigned by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The latest version is available online at http://www.iso.org/iso/home/standards/country_codes.htm.

    Two-digit codes example: e.g. AF (Afghanistan)

    Three-digit codes example: e.g. AFG (Afghanistan)

  • ICM Region

    Countries are categorised by geographic region, using the same regional classification as the World Health Organization (WHO).

    Possible values include:

    • AFR (Africa),
    • AMR (Americas),
    • EMR (Eastern Mediterranean),
    • EUR (Europe),
    • SEAR (South east Asia), or
    • WPR (Western Pacific)

  • Rank

    Global rank for indicator, i.e. the country with the best global score for this indicator will have rank = 1, next = 2, etc.  This ranking is only appropriate for a few indicators, others will show ‘na’

    Rank between 1 – 195

  • Rank out of

    The total number of countries who have reported a value for this indicator.  Ranking scores will only go as high as this number.

    Rank up to 195 countries in total – all 194 WHO member states plus Palestine.

  • Target

    How does the latest value compare with Global guidelines / targets?

    Possible values include:

    • Meets target
    • Does not meet target
    • Meets global standard
    • Does not meet global standard

  • Trend

    If historic data is available, an indication of the change over time.  If there is a global target, then the trend is either getting better, static or getting worse.  For mmr [OUN04mmr] and nmr [OUN05nmr] the average annual rate of reduction (arr) between 2016 and latest value is used to determine the trend:

    • arr <-1.0 = getting worse
    • arr >=-1.0 AND <=1.0 = static
    • arr >1.0 = getting better

    For other indicators, the trend is estimated by comparing the average of the last three years with the average ten years ago:

    • decreasing if now < 95% 10 yrs ago
    • increasing if now > 105% 10 yrs ago
    • static otherwise

    Possible values:

    • increasing
    • static
    • decreasing

    Or, if there is a global target:

    • getting better,
    • static,
    • getting worse

Midwifery Terms

This section defines key terms used in midwifery. From foundational concepts to specialised terminology, these definitions provide essential context to help you navigate the Midwives’ Data Hub and understand how midwifery contributes to maternal health.

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