King's students celebrate International Day of the Midwife
Midwifery students from the Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery held an event on Friday 4th May in celebration of the International Day of the Midwife, which aims to recognise and honour the important work of midwives around the world.
The event held at King’s included talks and presentations from Dr Denis Walsh, Associate Professor of Midwifery at the University of Nottingham, and Sheena Byrom OBE, acclaimed author of Catching Babies: A Midwife’s Tale; as well as representatives from the Association of Radical Midwives and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Sophie French, Lead Midwife for Education, said:
“I’m extremely proud of the students who worked so hard to plan this event. International Day of the Midwife was launched in 1992 and represents a fantastic opportunity for students, staff and clinicians to get together to not only celebrate our work and raise awareness but also to reflect upon and share our experiences. Mary Stewart, Senior Midwifery Lecturer, also played a key role in helping the students plan the event and I’d like to thank her and congratulate all the team involved.”
The event was free to King’s students, while guests paid a small entry fee. In total over £220 was raised for the White Ribbon Alliance, a global charity that works to reduce the number of women and babies that die during childbirth.
Sarah McNamara, a first year Midwifery Student who helped to organise the event, added:
“The open mic session was really popular. Students were keen to share their experiences through poetry, stories, comedy and photographs. We also used the event to launch a knitting project to make blankets for the Hamlin Fistula Hospital in Ethiopia. It was important for us not only to celebrate midwifery but also to raise awareness of the thousands of women and girls around the world who suffer maternal morbidity or die needlessly in childbirth each year.”
For more information, please visit International Day of the Midwife.