Report highlights value of midwives
In honour of International Day of the Midwife (IDM) on Thursday 5 May, the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) released the report “The Socio-economic Value of the Midwife,” which highlights the important role of midwives during pregnancy and childbirth. The report confirms that investing in midwives and midwife-led care is central to delivering high quality maternity care.
The report, which was released at the RCM’s Conference “Celebrating Midwives: Celebrating Achievements”, was co-authored by Jane Sandall, Professor of Social Science and Women's Health, School of Medicine and at the Florence Nightingale School of Nursing & Midwifery, King's College London, confirms that investing in midwives and midwife-led care is central to delivering high quality maternity care. Jane Sandall said the report on the economic value added to the evidence already in the Cochrane Review on Midwife-led care on which she leads and gave a talk about at the conference.
RCM General Secretary Cathy Warwick said: “The purpose of this study is to provide a robust assessment of evidence for the clinical and socio-economic effectiveness of midwife-led models of care to inform maternity care policy in the UK.”
She added: “The results provide evidence that providing a high quality, sensitive and appropriate model of care to women and their families at a crucial time in their lives can be achieved, without compromising safety and whilst making significant financial surveys. This study also shows that expanding midwifery-led care in the UK is a course of action that deserves further merit and that policy-makers and the Government need to investigate this further.”
The conference’s guest of honour was HRH The Princess Royal, RCM Patron, who discussed the UK model of midwifery across the Commonwealth. The conference reviewed the impact of midwifery-led care on maternal and newborn health; evaluated evidence-based care and its impact; and sought to understand the impact of national and global partnerships in improving midwifery skills and maternal and newborn care.
RCM Director of Learning and Practice Development Frances Day-Stirk, who is also Vice President of the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM), said: “Globally, we know that there is a shortage of midwives, and there is little doubt of the impact that this is having on mothers, babies and their families and communities all over the world. The tens of thousands of women and millions of babies who die every year from childbirth-related causes are evidence of this.”