Quality of sexual and reproductive health care: strengths, gaps, and challenges for midwifery care

Poor quality of sexual and reproductive care (SRC) persists despite countries' commitments to international conferences. The challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic reversed trends in maternal and neonatal mortality and contraception rates, increasing unmet family planning needs, and gender-based violence. Evidence shows that midwifery care has made an essential contribution to the development of high-quality services in maternal and childcare. The introduction of midwifery professionals, trained according to international standards and integrated into the health system, can provide around 90% of primary health care for women and newborns, including family planning. These skilled professionals can save lives and improve the health and well-being of women and newborn infants at a scale unmatched by other health interventions. Evidence identified 56 outcomes improved by the full scope of midwifery. The weight of sexual and reproductive health on general health and wellbeing has a greater impact on women particularly those that are neglected to receive high-quality SRC. Providing high-quality SRC demands more humanized and integrated, efficient, and effective services with a greater emphasis on quality, both from a technical perspective and from the user experience. Despite all the efforts, the quality of SRC is still a challenge globally, research is needed to identify best practices addressing quality care tailored to individuals, implementation of models of care that enhance both well-being and safety, optimization of physiological processes during childbirth as well as validation of outcomes measures.

This is a call to action for research related to SRC from a midwifery perspective. Original research, research experiences, literature reviews, scoping and systematic reviews, and policy briefs are welcome to be submitted to this Research Topic when related, but not limited to the following themes:
- Safe and respectful maternal and newborn care.
- Safe and respectful abortion care.
- Key or targeted populations: Refugees/migrants/adolescents/sexual diversity, among others.
- Gender-based violence.
- STI and HIV prevention, gynecological cancer screening.
- Promotion of sexual and reproductive health in the community.
- Sexual wellness.
- Family planning strategies.
- Midwifery education and training.