BLOG: Microlearning via the Safe Delivery App: The smart way to upskill midwives
To provide quality care, midwives and other maternal and newborn healthcare professionals around the world need to stay up to date with the latest research, guidelines, and best practices through Continuing Professional Development (CPD). Yet only the lucky few are invited to attend CPD training, perhaps once a year. Yet we know that all midwives need CPD, especially those working in remote settings.
Most CPD trainings still use traditional training methods, such as workshops or long courses. Added to that, the global shortage of midwives means that taking midwives away from their place of work does not fit the realities of busy midwifery clinics. Midwives working in rural or underserved communities often face the greatest challenges. Many work alone, without access to CPD or peer support. They’re expected to manage emergencies like postpartum bleeding or newborn distress, often with limited resources.
This is where microlearning via mobile technology provides a practical and cost-effective solution, offering short, focused lessons that are easily accessible, quickly reviewed, and immediately applicable. Not only is micro-learning more practical and cost effective, microlearning improves retention, boosts confidence, and fits the realities of midwifery work. Studies show it enhances learning outcomes and self-efficacy, while being time-efficient and scalable. A scoping review published in JMIR Medical Education found that microlearning improves knowledge retention and engagement among health professionals. Another study in BMC Medical Education showed that nursing students who used microlearning had significantly higher self-efficacy and learning outcomes compared to those in traditional formats. For midwives, microlearning isn’t just convenient – it’s essential.
Why microlearning is effective in upskilling midwives
So why is micro-learning so effective? Midwives are adults, and microlearning is built around how adults learn best: in small doses, with clear objectives, and at their own pace and time. Micro-learning is especially suited to the healthcare contexts because learning is offered in bite sizes and easy to revisit, the content focuses on one topic at a time. Learning can happen during breaks or between patients, or just before a procedure or after an incident. Mobile apps have made microlearning possible in places where traditional training isn’t. And now, artificial intelligence (AI) is helping make it even more personal, by delivering content that fits the midwife’s own context.
Technology and AI make micro-learning even more impactful. AI can tailor learning to each midwife’s needs by recommending lessons based on skill gaps and experience. It can adjust the format and pace to suit individual preferences. It can automatically update materials with the latest evidence, and the content can be localized to reflect cultural and language needs. A built-in chatbot can answer clinical questions in real time. This makes CPD more relevant, more effective, and easier to apply.
The Safe Delivery App is a real-life example of impactful microlearning
Photo: GIZ / Azimjon Quosimov
Maternity Foundation’s Safe Delivery App is a real-life example of impactful microlearning. The Safe Delivery App is free and works offline once downloaded and has demonstrated how microlearning can support midwives in practice, even in the most fragile settings worldwide. To date, the App and the accompanying training programme have reached 500,000 midwives and other healthcare professionals across more than 70 low-and middle-income countries, with strong results in improving the knowledge and skills needed to improve the quality of care they deliver.
The Safe Delivery App includes 20 modules on key topics such as antenatal care, perinatal mental health, bleeding after birth, newborn resuscitation, and infection prevention. It contains simple, animated instruction videos, descriptions of practical procedures, action cards, and drug lists based on WHO guidelines that are regularly updates to reflect new evidence. For more complex learning, the Safe Delivery App is enhanced with Training of Trainers packages that include simulation training, mentoring, teach back sessions, as well as communities of practise for midwives to share knowledge and experience with peers or mentors.
Microlearning is changing how midwives learn – and improving the quality of care that they deliver. For midwives in remote areas, it’s a lifeline. With the help of mobile technology and AI, we can make sure they have the tools they need to provide quality care – no matter where they live.
