Introduction: Midwifery is the art of caring for women during childbearing. It is practiced
throughout the world according to the norms, traditions and cultural practices found in each
country. Maternal mortality in Nigeria is high but there are wide variations between the geopolitical
zones of the country. Government has established the midwives service scheme (MSS) as
part of efforts towards reversing the country’s unacceptably high maternal mortality trends. To
improve these indices, the MSS in Nigeria engaged newly graduated unemployed and retired
midwives to work temporarily in rural areas. The midwives are posted for twelve months to
selected primary care facilities linked through a cluster model in which four such facilities with
the capacity to provide basic essential obstetric care are clustered around a secondary care facility
with the capacity to provide comprehensive emergency obstetric care. This brief review is an
attempt at exploring the impact of the midwives service scheme on maternal and neonatal indices
in Nigeria. Main content: The outcome of the MSS four years has been an improvement though unevenly
and marginally, in these indices in the various geopolitical zones of Nigeria. Improvements
have been noticed in maternal indices such as antenatal care attendance, women receiving two
doses of tetanus toxoid and number of deliveries by skilled personnel. Also reduction in maternal
and neonatal mortality has been observed over the years following introduction of the scheme.
Major challenges however, include lack of essential drugs, poor accommodation facilities for MSS
staff, irregular payment of their remuneration and lack of water/power supply to some designated
facilities for the scheme. Recommendations and conclusions: It is therefore recommended that 24
hours availability of essential drugs at primary healthcare centers be maintained. This should
happen in conjunction with regular payment of full entitlements and benefits and provision of secured,
habitable and good accommodation for MSS staff. Finally, aggressive community mobilization should continue in order to engender community involvement and participation for sustainable
program development.