The International Day of the Midwife

On May 5 midwives throughout the world celebrated the International Day of the Midwife. This day was established by the International Confederation of Midwives and was first celebrated in 1991.

The Midwives' Association of Malta, which has been affiliated to this confederation since 1975, has been celebrating this day since its inception. The theme of each year is set by the ICM.

For the first time this year, the Midwives' Association celebrated this day together with the MUMN with a seminar held at the Golden Tulip Vivaldi Hotel in St Julian's. The theme for this day was "Midwives - a voice for healthy families".

The turnout of professionals and public was very encouraging, the public making up 13 per cent of all participants.

The seminar was opened by Parliamentary Secretary Helen D'Amato. She highlighted the good outcomes of maternity care in Malta and pointed out areas where change and improvement were required.

A number of papers were presented and all emphasised the importance of empowering midwives, mothers and families. The papers were followed by questions and statements from the floor.

Ms M. Abela, secretary of the Midwives' Association closed the seminar by asking all present to work together to humanise childbirth and reduce the medicalisation of childbirth in Malta.

It was agreed that a working group made up of midwives was to be set up to work on establishing the way forward for midwifery care in Malta. Those professionals interested in joining the group were asked to sign up.