Interview with Midwife and Nordic Goalkeeper Champion Asabea Britton
In January, Goalkeepers Nordics 2026 took place in Stockholm. Hosted by Gates Foundation, the platform was dedicated to highlighting and celebrating six Nordic Goalkeeper Champions. Each of them demonstrates how Nordic leadership and innovation can create a real difference in tackling some of the world’s biggest challenges today, including maternal and child mortality.
Chosen by the Goalkeepers Advisory Council, including Maternity Foundation’s CEO Anna Frellsen, midwife and influencer Asabea Britton was selected as one of six champions for her ability to convey important maternal health issues to broad audiences. Through her social media, Asabea draws on both her midwifery knowledge and her own motherhood journey to inform others about pregnancy, birth and postpartum, not shying away from challenging taboos related to birth or advocating for women’s rights to dignified birth experiences.
At Maternity Foundation, we were thrilled to see a strong midwife voice and powerful maternal health advocate represented at Goalkeepers Nordics 2026. Truly admiring Asabea’s vision for a world where every woman has the right to a safe, informed, and respectful birth experience, we invited her to talk about her role as a Nordic Goalkeeper Champion and her views on the challenges and potentials facing midwives today – in the Nordic countries and at global scale.
The six Nordic Goalkeeper Champions, Stockholm 2026.
Q&A:
Q: At the Goalkeepers Nordics 2026 in Stockholm, you were celebrated as a Nordic Goalkeeper Champion, recognized for your ability to highlight and engage with critical maternal health issues. When did your passion for advocating for maternal health begin?
A: I have always been interested in people and in caring for others in different ways. Life first led me to nursing, where I was immediately drawn to women’s health while working on a gynecological ward. During my nursing studies, I worked as a nursing assistant in a delivery ward, and that is when I decided that I wanted to become a midwife. I found the work incredibly fulfilling, interesting, and important.
When I later began sharing my newly gained knowledge, along with my own personal experience of becoming a mother for the first time, on social media, it became clear to me how much essential information is lacking for women today. That was when my true passion for education and advocacy for maternal health began.
Q: You have been an advocate for the life-saving impact of simple, evidence-based practices in the hands of skilled midwives. Can you share a concrete example of this in action?
A: A great example is something that Dr. Nils Bergman and I discussed during the Goalkeepers event: Kangaroo Mother Care. This involves early and continuous skin-to-skin contact between mother and baby (or between the baby and another caregiver if the mother is not available).
It is a powerful example of how a very simple approach—essentially not intervening with our instincts—can have both immediate and long-term positive effects on the health of mothers and infants.
Another issue I am deeply passionate about is continuity of care, meaning having continuous support from a known midwife throughout pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period. This should be an option for all women, not just a few, as is currently the case in Sweden, where I live. I am also an advocate for different levels of maternity care—being able to give birth with a midwife in a hospital, at a birth center, or at home, depending on a woman’s circumstances and wishes. In Sweden, most women only have the option of giving birth in a hospital.
Dr. Nils Bergman, Asabea Britton, and Anna Frellsen on stage at Goalkeepers Nordics 2026
Q: How would you describe the current state of midwifery in the Nordic countries?
A: I would say that it varies between the different Nordic countries. Sweden is quite unique in that we have only one option for intrapartum care: hospital-based birth. There are also very limited opportunities to work as a freelance midwife in my country. I believe the situation is different in countries such as Iceland and Denmark.
That said, I do have the impression that midwives and midwifery are still highly respected professions from the public’s point of view. My hope is that midwives can remain in control of the normal, physiological aspects of birth, and that we do not lose essential midwifery skills – skills that are based not on technology and machinery, but on what is in our hands: our touch, our presence, and our ability to observe. These are things that cannot truly be taught; they must be experienced and felt, if we are open to them and allowed the space to practice them.
Q: At a global scale, what do you see as the most significant challenges and opportunities facing midwives today?
A: On a global scale, I believe the main challenge is ensuring that more women have access to a trained midwife. If we can increase access to skilled midwives for more women, we will be able to save countless lives.
Q: Looking ahead, how do you hope to apply your role as a Nordic Goalkeeper Champion?
A: Honestly, I don’t fully know yet. I was initially hesitant to accept the “award,” feeling that I hadn’t done enough to deserve it. However, after reflecting on it and listening to input from other midwives, I realized that it is not about me as an individual. Rather, it is an opportunity to help amplify the voice of midwives on a global scale.
I suppose that is what I want to do – to show the world the wide-ranging and impactful work that midwives do.
