Implementation guidanceon transitioning to midwiferymodels of care ContentsContentsAcknowledgements1.Introduction1.1What is the purpose1.2Who are the expected users?1.3Exploring midwifery models of care of the implementation guidance1.3.1Continuity of midwife care models1.3.2Community-based midwifery models of care1.3.3Birth centres1.3.4Private midwifery models of care1.3.5Midwifery models of care in humanitarian and crisis settings1.4A flexible approach for transitioning to midwifery models of care2.Essential pillars for the transition to midwifery models of care2.1Foster and secure political commitment and funding2.2Establish or strengthen governance2.3Build partnerships2.4Ensure sustainability for the transition to midwifery models of care3.Strategic planning processStep 1Conduct a situation analysisStep 2Design a strategic planStep 3Develop an operational plan with a monitoring and evaluation frameworkStep 4Develop a financial plan and allocate resources4.Transition areas for midwifery models of care4.1Women and community engagement4.2Service delivery for maternal and newborn care4.3Interprofessional collaboration4.4Midwifery leadership and research4.5Policy and regulatory environment4.6Education and continuous professional development4.7Health workforce strategies4.8Supportive health system environment5.Transition framework assessment tool6.Transition stories6.1Transitioning to midwifery models of care in the absence of midwives: a storyfrom Bangladesh6.2Continuity of midwife care for survivors of sexual violence: a transition storyfrom the Democratic Republic of the Congo6.3From political commitment to large-scale change: transition to continuity ofmidwife care in England6.4Introducing a continuity of midwife care model in Northern Ethiopia6.5Transitioning to continuity of midwife care in a conflict-affected setting: storyfromthe West BankReferencesAnnex I ISBN 978-92-4-011019-9 (electronic version)ISBN 978-92-4-011020-5 (print version)Some rights reserved. This work is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 IGO licence (CCBY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/igo/).Under the terms of this licence, you may copy, redistribute and adapt the work for non-commercial purposes, provided the work isappropriately cited, as indicated below. In any use of this work, there should be no suggestion that WHO endorses any specificorganization, products or services. The use of the WHO logo is not permitted. If you adapt the work, then you must license your work underthe same or equivalent Creative Commons licence. If you create a translation of this work, you should add the following disclaimer alongwith the suggested citation: “This translation was not created by the World Health Organization (WHO). WHO is not responsible for thecontent or accuracy of this translation. The original English edition shall be the binding and authentic edition.”Any mediation relating to disputes arising under the licence shall be conducted in accordance with the mediation rules of the WorldIntellectual Property Organization (http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/mediation/rules/).Suggested citation.Implementation guidance on transitioning to midwifery models of care. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2025.Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.Cataloguing-in-Publication (CIP) data.CIP data are available at https://iris.who.int/.Sales, rights and licensing.To purchase WHO publications, see https://www.who.int/publications/book-orders. To submit requests forcommercial use and queries on rights and licensing, see https://www.who.int/copyright.Third-party materials.If you wish to reuse material from this work that is attributed to a third party, such as tables, figures or images, it isyour responsibility to determine whether permission is needed for that reuse and to obtain permission from the copyright holder. The riskof claims resulting from infringement of any third-party-owned component in the work rests solely with the user.General disclaimers.The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression ofany opinion whatsoever on the part of WHO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, orconcerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Dotted and dashed lines on maps represent approximate border lines for whichthere may not yet be full agreement.The mention of specific companies or of certain manufacturers’ products does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by WHOin preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. Errors and omissions excepted, the names of proprietary products aredistinguished by initial capital letters.All reasonable precautions have been taken by WHO to verify the information contained in this publication. However, the publishedmaterial is being distributed without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied. The responsibi