PURPOSE:
This presentation examines political and social processes that led to the March 4, 2025 federal approval of the landmark Mexican Official Standard NOM-020-SSA-2025, For health establishments and the recognition of midwifery in comprehensive maternal and neonatal care. Mexico’s universal health strategy now includes traditional and professional midwives for the first time. The regulation mandates access to midwifery care through a gender-sensitive, culturally-appropriate approach and lays the foundation for a national network of midwife-led public birthing centers. We highlight the implications of this advancement for women and families, along with key recent reforms: 2024 General Health Law updates that allow traditional midwives to register births and formally include "professional midwifery" in Article 79, and 2024 constitutional reforms to Article 2 that strengthen indigenous peoples' right to self-determination by recognizing traditional midwives knowledge and practices.

DISCUSSION:
We trace the evolution of midwifery politics in Mexico, focusing on how NOM-020’s approval—under President Claudia Sheinbaum, the country’s first female president—advances reproductive justice. The regulation sets evidence-based standards for maternal and neonatal care with midwives at both primary and secondary levels.

EVIDENCE WHERE RELEVANT:
An interdisciplinary, interinstitutional working group developed NOM-020 over 2024 and early 2025 using diverse health metrics and reproductive indicators. We will present this data, alongside testimonies from federal health leaders, NGOs, and other key actors—some who supported and others who opposed the reform. Experiences of midwifery integration in other universal health systems will also be examined.

KEY MESSAGE:
These reforms mark a turning point in family health, reflecting Mexico’s commitment to a pluralistic system that honors traditional and biomedical practices—and adheres to the evidence that family presence during childbirth benefits the birthing person, the baby, and the family. Implementation of NOM-020-SSA-2025 and WHO’s target of six midwives per 1,000 live births requires strategic planning, trust-building, financing, cross-sector coordination, monitoring and evaluation Climate change 2 (including three-minute presentation competition)