Happy International Day of the Midwife 2021

This year we respond to The International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) call to action and join midwives from all over the world to celebrate this year’s International Day of the Midwife (IDM) on 5th May 2021 under the theme of “Follow the Data: Invest in Midwives.” 

This year's theme is timely because IDM coincides with the launch of the 2021 State of the World's Midwifery (SoWMy) Report. Co-led by UNFPA, WHO and ICM, SoWMy 2021 provides an updated evidence base and detailed analysis on the impact of midwives on maternal and newborn health outcomes and the return on investment in midwives. 

Nurse & Midwife Support is invested in the health, wellbeing and support of midwives. We have resources including podcasts, newsletters, stories, blogs and website content designed to support your health and wellbeing.
Here are a few to get you started:

• Always going the be a midwife: Helen’s story
• Self-care for midwives
• B & ME: a graduate midwife’s story by Frankie Finch
• A difficult year: 2020 and the power of reflection

On this important day when we pause, reflect, celebrate and acknowledge the incredible work that midwives do and continue to do particularly in the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic when so many have gone above and beyond. Your commitment and the sacrifice of many in the midwifery profession is noticed and we are grateful.

Helen, a midwife who works at Nurse & Midwife Support says International Day of the Midwife is an important day for her to acknowledge the important work midwives do and for her reach out to her tribe.

Helen’s message to midwives is:

“If you need support, or a debrief, please call us and have a chat 1800 667 877.  We see the hard work you do in supporting women, babies and their families, and it’s a privilege to give back to a profession that has given me so much.”  

Celest is another midwife who is part of our team. She took some time to reflect on what International day of the Midwife means to her. She said

"Recognition and acknowledgment is pivotal for humans providing any kind of meaningful contribution to society. As a midwife I feel I make a difference to my community through supporting the health and wellbeing of women and babies in my care. Its amazing to have a day to celebrate this across the globe- the incredibly rewarding but also challenging task of bringing life into the world and all that this entails. 
 
To the midwives of Australia- we see you. We acknowledge the hard grind, the sweat, the tears, the joy, and the love that is all a part of midwifery. The roller coaster ride of being with families through the best and sometimes hardest times of their entire lives. The many sacrifices you make for a purposeful career where at times you feel unseen and unrecognised. Today we honor you and all that you give."

We encourage midwives and all who support them to take time to reflect, celebrate and thank themselves and their colleagues as we recognize the work of midwives and contribution to maternal and newborn health. We thank every midwife working across the diverse area’s midwives are employed in for your skill, dedication and care you provide to women and their families.

Midwife Frankie Finch summed it up well when she joined us on our podcast: 

“Support is everything. Being a midwife, in particular, it’s a part of who we are. When we do this job, we want to do it well because it’s a reflection of who we want to be as people. What kind of care we want to provide, this is the sort of experience where without the correct support it could have broken a human… 

Find your champion at work, that is the best thing to do. The people that you can go to just to debrief, who are always going to listen. I feel like that has been pretty important in my success, in this high risk stressful environment that I work in.”

If you need support or recognise that a colleague needs support, please contact Nurse & Midwife Support, the national 24/7 support services for midwives, nurses and students. The service is anonymous, confidential and free - just call 1800 667 877 or email.

Your health matters!

Mark Aitken
Stakeholder Engagement Manager