The purpose of Newlife International School of Midwifery is to provide the opportunity for students to learn valuable midwifery skills while at the same time making a difference in the world. Over 500,000 women in developing countries die each year from pregnancy and childbirth related complications according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Most of these deaths are avoidable and could be prevented by having a trained birthing attendant available.

Here in the Philippines for example, only 56% of women give birth with the assistance of a trained and qualified birth attendant. The maternal mortality rate in the Philippines is 170 deaths per 100,000 live births compared to that of 20 deaths in developed nations. In Southeast Asia a woman has a 1 in 140 chance of dying as a result of childbirth complications compared to developed nations rating of 1 in 2,800. Approximately 36 per 1,000 infants die in the Philippines before the age of one.

Due to the unique set-up and location of our facility we are well equipped to train midwives to work in developing countries. Each student acquires valuable experience in providing maternal/newborn health care cross-culturally to families living in poverty. We desire that our graduates might consider volunteering for other medical mission organizations working in countries where the need for skilled midwives is so prevalent.

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Our goal is to train midwives who will make a difference in the world!

For students interested in starting their own birthing center in other developing countries we are more than willing to train them in various aspects of establishing and managing such a clinic. Our midwifery program will provide each graduate with the necessary skills and knowledge to practice anywhere in the world. Being a midwife opens many doors to countless opportunities. Some of our students have gone into other countries such as Nigeria, Afghanistan, Nepal, India, China, Yemen and some have chosen to return to the Philippines to work alongside us.

We are absolutely committed to seeing our students succeed. Therefore, we are looking for the best because we view our involvement and commitment to our students extending far beyond their granduation. Presently we have many more people applying to the school than we have open positions for enrollment. We are obviously seeking students that enjoy a healthy relationship with the Lord. And, we place a very high value on personal integrity and an ability to socially interact with others in a way that honors and respects our fellow man.

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There is a unique beauty that a midwife holds within the context of cross-cultural Christian missions.

We believe that Christian midwives command a viable asset to the world Christian movement specifically involving foreign missions. It is our hope that the respective home churches of our students will recognize and embrace the enormous potential that an equipped and skilled midwife offers to their vision and commitment to world missions.

As we state, the entire context of Newlife School of Midwifery is fully immersed on the mission field. We feel the Biblical model of missions is primarily the extension of the local church body. Therefore, we are specifically seeking students that enjoy a healthy relationship with their home church. As part of our Financial Aid we offer a specifically developed grant that actually offers a full scholarship called the Directors Grant. This grant seeks to legitimize the role of a midwife as she is identified and connected to the cross-cultural mission vision of the student's local church.

The world is changing every day and doors are closing to the typical western missionary. However, those doors remain very open to health care specialists especially in light of the global challenges of inadequate maternal and newborn health care.

The beauty of midwifery within the context of cross-cultural Christian missions is simply this; there are no cultural barriers to expressing the compassion and mercy of Jesus Christ. This reality is enhanced by the simple fact that it extends out to the family of the midwife's patient and subsequently grants access of her Christian witness into the patient's home. This exact story has been played out tens of thousands of times here in the Philippines involving our midwife students and their patients.

A Christian midwife is undoubtedly a viable cross-cultural missions commodity. Our mission is to serve as a catalyst to see that vision come to fruition!