Professional and normative standards in midwifery in six Southeast European countries: A policy case study

The aim of this study is to consider possibilities of defining common professional and normative standards of the midwifery profession in six neighbouring Southeast European countries, and to create preconditions for the internationalisation of midwifery studies and form of continuous midwifery education, based on a common core curriculum. This article consists of three parts. First, the basic guidelines on the professional standards of the midwifery profession are introduced and analysed. Special emphasis is placed on quantitative and qualitative analyses of the teaching programmes according to which midwives are educated in Croatia and neighbouring countries. The emphasis is on: a) acquisition of knowledge aimed at professional obligations and responsibilities, b) application of knowledge, skills and competences to midwifery practice, and c) improvement of the quality of midwifery care in the best interest of patients/clients, newborns, and members of their families. Second, the normative standards of midwifery profession are presented. The framework of the normative standards consists of legal and ethical norms that oblige midwives to provide quality midwifery care and to act in a professionally responsible manner. The laws and ethical codes of the neighbouring countries are analysed, with which application midwives can assess their everyday practices and activities in relation to how much these activities are ethical and allowed by legal norms. Third, the activities of the professional associations of midwives are presented; their organizational, contextual and methodological perspectives, particularly the scope of their participation in the development of the standards of midwifery profession are given; and whether, and in what measure, the external evaluation of the accomplished learning outcomes is conducted, based on the level of midwifery education. Recommendations are outlined in the conclusions.