Midwives call for more support in safe motherhood

Midwives need more backing to help them carry out their roles effectively. Midwives at an international workshop in May called for midwifery practice to be evaluated and improved so as to better achieve the goals of safe motherhood. The workshop on "Midwifery Practice--Measuring, Developing and Mobilizing Quality of Care" was the third in a series of workshops run jointly by the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and WHO. 41 midwives from 27 countries with high maternal mortality attended the workshop in Vancouver, Canada, on 7-8 May just prior to the ICM congress. Participants exchanged ideas on how midwives themselves can take responsibility for assessing and promoting high standards of maternity care. Plenary sessions and group work gave midwives the chance to learn how to determine what constitutes quality midwifery care. At the end of the workshop midwives drew up individual action plans to implement when they got back to their own countries. Workshop participants agreed an action statement addressed to ICM, WHO, UNICEF and to midwives themselves.