#IDM2025: Midwives: Critical in every crisis

This year, Sandra Oyarzo Torres, President of the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM), explains the theme for the International Day of the Midwife 2025 (#IDM2025):

“Let’s honour midwives’ contributions and commit to advocating for our inclusion in crisis preparedness, planning, and response. Together, we can ensure midwives are enabled to deliver care and protect the health and rights of women, newborns, and communities in every crisis. Midwives are trusted first responders within their communities... They are capable of providing up to 90% of sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn, and adolescent health (SRMNAH) services, even during humanitarian crises.” 

As we come together to celebrate #IDM2025, we invite you to join midwives from around the globe for a 4-hour immersive online event hosted by the ICM. It’s an opportunity to connect, share, and reflect on the invaluable contributions midwives make every day. 

Register for the event: Monday 5 May, 9:00am AEST  

There will be other celebrations held all around the world — you can register your own with the ICM or find an event in your region. 

At Nurse and Midwife Support, we are continually inspired by the incredible work of midwives. Midwives are some of the most respected and skilled professionals in healthcare, offering a vast breadth of knowledge across the pregnancy and birth continuum, from sexual and reproductive health to child and family health. The 2025 theme is a powerful call to action to leverage this expertise, especially in times of crisis, to better serve communities worldwide.

The ICM explains: 

While midwives are vital to health systems’ ability to prepare for and withstand crises, they are often not valued and are excluded from preparedness planning and response efforts. This is the moment to position midwives as the essential health professionals they are and advocate for their inclusion at every step of crisis preparedness and response. For midwives to adequately respond, we must also ensure they are safe and are equipped with the training, tools, and resources they need to save lives and protect rights in the most challenging settings.  

Midwives are crucial in both metropolitan health services, where they may manage high-risk care and emergencies, and in regional and rural settings, where they navigate complex logistics deliver the best family care with minimal resources. We understand that midwives often face some of the most physically and mentally demanding clinical situations throughout their careers. Research shows that midwives experience a higher rate of PTSD than the general population. That’s why it’s vital to take time to process these experiences. Read more about why midwives are vulnerable to PTSD and what we can do about it.  

If you’re seeking support, we encourage you to explore our Wellbeing Portal. It’s a space designed to help you better understand your wellness needs and restore balance. 

We also want to emphasize the importance of self-compassion in midwifery. It’s a key component of building emotional resilience, especially when managing crises. Read more about Self-compassion: surviving and thriving in emotionally taxing work environments. 
 

Let’s celebrate midwives and continue to advocate for their essential role in global health, particularly in times of crisis. Thank you so much for everything you do for your clients and communities. Your work changes lives. 

If you’ve been involved in midwifery in refugee camps, conflict zones, or areas affected by climate change or natural disasters, the ICM would like to hear about it. Selected stories may be featured as part of the #IDM2025 campaign and help to highlight the critical role midwives play in helping communities through crisis. 

Submit your story or nominate a midwife

If you need to chat, our team of fellow nurses and/or midwives is here for you — free, confidential, 24/7, Australia-wide. Call 1800 667 877 or email us. Your health matters.