BULLETIN

International Day of the Midwives 2022: 100 years of progress

International Day of the Midwives (IDM) 2022 was celebrated worldwide on May 5, marking a century since ICM’s forerunner - the International Midwives Union (IMU) - was established in Belgium.

This year, IDM served as a platform for the release of a global report detailing the requests of over 56,000 health providers in 101 countries, in response to the open-ended question: “What do you want most in your role as a midwife?”

What Women Want: Midwives’ Voices, Midwives’ Demands reports the responses, with the top two requests being:

• more and better supported personnel (33% of respondents), with the most often cited sub-demand being proper remuneration. • supplies and functional facilities (33% of respondents), which included access to basics such as clean water, equipment and medications for women under their care.

The survey, led by White Ribbon Alliance in collaboration with ICM, followed on from the What Women Want campaign, launched in 2019, which advocated for improvement of quality maternal and reproductive healthcare for women and girls globally. Among the top five requests from women and girls in 114 countries was “increased, competent and better supported midwives and nurses”.

Midwives worldwide have felt the added pressures of the Covid-19 pandemic and although midwifery challenges are different for each continent, it is clear midwives are needed and wanted by women, and midwives everywhere feel undervalued and underrecognised.

The College hopes all midwives here in Aotearoa felt appreciated on May 5, 2022 and continues to advocate for increased recognition from the government. square

Rata midwives gain 30k+ signatures in bid to save St. George’s maternity

In response to the proposed closure of St. George’s primary maternity service in Christchurch (see p.12 for background), LMC group practice Rata Midwives launched an online petition in April, gaining more than 30,000 signatures in support of the service’s continuation.

St. George’s, a private hospital contracted by Canterbury DHB to provide maternity services, is the only central primary birthing unit available to wāhine and whānau in Ōtautahi, meaning its closure would limit birthing people’s options to Christchurch Women’s Hospital, or primary birth units situated more than 30 kms out of the city.

Rata midwife Hayley Gimblett explains the petition was needed to raise awareness about what the community could lose if the closure goes ahead. “If St. George’s maternity service closes, there will be even less choice for women in Christchurch. We need to have choices about where we birth. Primary birth options are an absolutely key part of a woman’s birth choices and in fact we need far more primary birthing options, not fewer.”

The College collaborated with Rata Midwives and MERAS on the publicity campaign, to

There’s no birth like a Calmbirth®

Calmbirth is being paritally funded by the Auckland District Health Board for pregnant couples who meet the following criteria: · Live within the Auckland DHB catchment area · Plan to birth at Auckland Hospital · Plan to have a natural birth (ie, a vaginal birth, not an elective Caesarean-Section) SPACE IS LIMITED – To register for a class go to www.pepi.adhb.govt.nz

Rata Midwives before delivering the 30K+ strong petition

increase visibility of the issue on a national scale. At time of writing, the future of St. George’s maternity is unknown, with a decision expected end of May. square

STI webinar series

The New Zealand Sexual Health Society has updated its STI Management Guidelines for use in Primary Care. The College will be hosting a series of three practice update webinars in June, to provide midwives with practical information and tips on screening, testing, treatment and referral for people who experience STIs during pregnancy. Invitations to register will be emailed to members in June. Here are the dates, subjects and speakers (as confirmed so far):

WEBINAR 1: SYPHILIS

Thursday 16 June, 11.30am - 12.15pm Presenters: Dr Sunita Azariah, Sexual Health Physician, Auckland DHB; Dr David Hou, Neonatologist, Counties Manukau DHB.

WEBINAR 2: HERPES AND GENITAL WARTS

Wednesday 22 June, 11.30am - 12.15pm Presenters: Dr Susan Bray, Sexual Health Physician, Waikato DHB; Wendy Girling, Sexual Health Nurse Specialist, Waikato DHB.

WEBINAR 3: CHLAMYDIA, GONORRHOEA AND TRICHOMONAS

Tuesday 28 June, 1.30-2.30pm Presenters: Dr Edward Coughlin, Sexual Health Physician, Canterbury DHB; Linda Burke, Pasifika midwife, South Auckland; Claire Stewart, Sexual Health Nurse Specialist, Counties Manukau Health. square

Image: Natural Focus Birth Photography