The only JPO Midwife in WHO? Meet Leo Becker this International Women’s Day

Dignity in childbirth begins with the right care at the right place. For millions of women around the world, a safe birth begins with a midwife. 

Yet in many countries, midwives remain in short supply. Health systems face workforce gaps, unequal access to services and funding pressures. Strengthening midwifery is essential to protect maternal and newborn health and to move closer to universal health coverage. 

Across the World Health Organization (WHO), staff work every day with countries and partners to improve women’s health. But few bring the perspective of a practising midwife. 

Leo on field assignment. © WHO

Leontien Becker, known to colleagues as Leo, is a Junior Professional Officer (JPO) with WHO and currently the only JPO in the Organization with a background in midwifery. As a technical officer working on midwifery and sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health (SRMNCAH), Leo supports countries in strengthening policies, improving service delivery and advancing national programmes that reduce maternal and newborn mortality.

Midwives at the heart of safe childbirth

One focus area of Leo’s work with WHO has been to strengthen midwifery as a key strategy to advance universal health coverage and the Sustainable Development Goal targets to reduce maternal and newborn deaths by 2030.

“Midwives are essential in improving access to high-quality care for women and babies,” Leo explains.

Because of their close connection to communities and their broad scope of practice, midwives can independently provide up to 90% of essential sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn, child health services when trained according to global midwifery standards. This makes them critical to improving health outcomes and achieving global targets for safer pregnancy and childbirth, improving women’s birth experiences, and reducing medicalization of childbirth. 

Leo on the field with health care workers. © WHO

Despite this, many countries face growing shortages of midwives due to migration, under or de-prioritization of the workforce and insufficient professional recognition.

Leo’s experience as a midwife allows her to bring both clinical insight and policy perspective to WHO’s work.

“Being a midwife myself, I was able to contribute to both policy development and clinical programme implementation. Understanding the challenges that midwives are facing in their work, including supporting deliveries in challenging contexts with limited resources and suboptimal referral systems, helped me to be realistic in both my policy and programmatic work,” she says.

Rethinking what quality care in childbirth means

Earlier in her career with WHO, Leo worked in Nepal, where she supported the country’s efforts to strengthen its midwifery programme. Working closely with the Ministry of Health and development partners, she contributed to initiatives that strengthened training curricula, mapped midwifery services and supported the expansion of midwife-led care in remote areas.

A mother checks her baby's weight at a health post in Karnali, Nepal. © WHO Nepal

These experiences also shaped how she views quality care during childbirth.

During a training session with midwife educators, Leo facilitated discussions on WHO recommendations for intrapartum care and what defines a positive childbirth experience. The conversation challenged a common misconception that more advanced medical interventions automatically mean better care.

Evidence shows that when midwives lead care during childbirth, women are more likely to experience natural births, fewer unnecessary interventions and more positive experiences for women.

Quality care during childbirth is not defined by the number of interventions. It is about providing the right care at the right time while respecting a woman’s dignity and autonomy.

Leo has also worked in humanitarian settings, where access to care can be particularly fragile. During an assignment in Ethiopia, she supported a joint UN programme with UNICEF and UNFPA to deliver essential services in conflict-affected areas.

Field visit to a health facility included in the joint UN programme on strengthening access to care in conflict-affected areas in Ethiopia. © WHO Ethiopia

Strengthening maternity waiting homes where pregnant women can await the start of their delivery to avoid the risks of traveling in unsafe environments. © WHO Ethiopia

Through mobile health teams, outreach services and maternity waiting homes, WHO and partners made it possible for women to receive antenatal care and prepare for childbirth closer to health facilities. This reduced the risks associated with travelling long distances in unsafe conditions.

Experiences like these have reinforced for Leo the importance of resilient health systems that can continue delivering essential services even during crises.

A future dedicated to women’s health

Leo hopes to continue advancing the health of women and girls, particularly those facing the most extreme vulnerabilities in crisis settings. Her goal is to work on sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health in humanitarian contexts where the need for care is greatest.

She recently completed an International Diploma in Humanitarian Assistance to prepare for this path and reflects with gratitude on the opportunities provided through the WHO Junior Professional Officer programme, supported by the Government of the Netherlands.

“I hope that more midwives will have the opportunity to contribute to the work of WHO and the wider UN system in the future,” she says.