Coronavirus Resources for Midwives and Healthcare

Around the world, protests are erupting in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and against systematic police brutality. These conversations have resonated with midwives globally and provided an opportunity to highlight dismal maternal health outcomes for women of colour.  

Right now, in the United States, black women are 3-4 times more likely to experience a pregnancy related death than white women, regardless of education, income, or other socioeconomic factors. Furthermore, black women are more likely to experience preventable maternal death when compared to white women, and black women are nearly twice as likely to suffer from life threatening pregnancy complications including cardiomyopathy, embolism, and eclampsia (National Partnership for Women and Families)  

Back in March, ICM had the opportunity to work with its American counterparts from the American College of Nurse-Midwives and the Black Mamas Matter Alliance on a piece highlighting these significant racial disparities. Leveraging the platform created by the Black Live Matter movement, we’re resharing this piece and calling on our global midwifery community to do the same.  

Margarita Rocio Perez Silvia (pictured above) has worked as midwife in Peru for 26 years. She has never been this frightened by the current realities facing midwives, pregnant women, and their newborns. 

According to Margarita, 652 Peruvian midwives have been infected with COVID-19 since the beginning of March. Of these 652, 9 midwives have died from the disease to date.  

Margarita explains she is not surprised midwives are dying because her government’s policies mean that midwives aren’t considered frontline health workers and are denied Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) as a result. Aggravating the situation is the fact that all first-level clinical facilities in the country – the centres where midwives work and women typically give birth – have been closed and midwives redeployed to hospitals managing COVID-19 cases. Within their new roles caring for COVID-19 patients, midwives still aren't receiving adequate PPE.  

Margarita points out that when midwives are prevented from doing their work, maternal health is compromised. She notes there have been 15 more maternal deaths since the beginning of March 2020 compared to this same period last year. Because of the lack of tests being conducted, there is no way of knowing if these maternal deaths were related to infections with Covid-19 or due to lack of access to midwifery care or for some other reason. ICM is closely monitoring the developing situation in Peru and throughout South America. We are actively sharing the distressing stories of Margarita and other midwives on our social media channels and are working with our media partners to bring attention to the realities of midwives and birthing women in all regions of the world during this global pandemic.

Every two years, the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Council of Nurses (ICN) bring nursing and midwifery leaders from across the world together to discuss global health and key topics of interest to both professions. Usually only a handful of midwives are able to attend but the virtual nature of this year’s TRIAD Meetings saw more than 200 midwives actively participating. Several midwives had the opportunity to speak on each day of the TRIAD, sharing their experiences of managing COVID-19, highlighting how midwifery evidence is being used to inform policy and identifying the strategic priorities of midwives and the midwifery profession for the next decade.  

Following the TRIAD Meeting midwives and midwife-leaders met separately with ICM to discuss the importance of establishing a Chief Midwife in each country as a strategy to ensure the voices of midwives are properly represented in policy decisions pertaining to maternal and newborn health and midwifery services and to ensure a leadership pathway where midwives speak for midwives and for the profession.  

The three partners (WHO, ICM, ICN) produced a TRIAD Statement that sets out the main issues raised at the TRIAD and the actions needed by governments to address the concerns of both the midwifery and the nursing professions. 

On June 26th, the ICM Council bid farewell to the 2017 – 2020 ICM Board. This group has overseen a busy triennium in which ICM raised its profile and increased its advocacy for women, midwives and high-quality and respectful maternal and newborn health services, provided increased support for its members and regions and implemented measures to improve the long-term sustainability of ICM. 

Eight members of the Board have now completed their roles, while five transition across to join new representatives and form the 2020 – 2023 Board. 

ICM would like to thank the following members of the 2017 – 2020 ICM Board for their dedication to our organisation and to midwives, mothers, and newborns around the world.  

• Mary Kirk – Vice-President 
• Ingela Wiklund – Treasurer  
• Jemima Dennis-Antwi – Representing Africa Region (Anglophone)  
• Emmanuelle Hébert – Representing Americas Region (North America and the Caribbean) 
• Hatsumi Taniguchi – Representing Western Pacific Region 
• Rafat Jan – Representing Eastern Mediterranean Region 
• Serena Debonnet – Representing Europe Region (Central Europe) 
• Rita Borg-Xuereb – Representing Europe Region (Southern Europe) 

On the heels of the 2017-2020 Board’s departure, we’d like to welcome the new Board who will govern ICM over the next three years. The below photo was taken on June 26th where ICM’s new Board and the ICM Head Office Team had the opportunity to meet virtually to discuss ways of working for the remainder of #YearOfTheMidwife and into #DecadeOfTheMidwife.  

Welcome to the following individuals who will form the 2020-2023 ICM Board:  

• Franka Cadee – ICM President 
• Sandra Oyarzo Torres – Vice President 
• Vitor Varela – Treasurer 
• Ann Kinnear – Representing Western Pacific Region 
• Emi Nurjasmi Indomo – Representing South East Asia Region 
• Roa Altaweli – Representing Eastern Mediterranean Region 
• Dicko Fatoumata S Maiga – Representing Francophone Africa Region  
• Hilma Shikwambi – Representing Anglophone  Africa Region  
• Florencia Francisconi – Representing  South America Region  
• Pandora Hardtman – Representing North America and the Caribbean Region  
• Lisa Welcland – Representing Europe Region (Central Europe) 
• Trude Thommesen – Representing Europe Region (Northern Europe) 
• Victoria Vivilaki – Representing Europe Region (Southern Europe) 

Stay tuned to our social channels and the ICM website for updates on our new Board Members.  

More than 190 representatives of ICM’s Member Associations met 'live’ on June 26th through a virtual meeting that concluded two months of activities for the 2020 ICM Council Meeting. These activities included reading various Council papers, watching video presentations about the papers, discussing issues through virtual regional meetings, voting to select regional Board Members and voting to decide on all the papers and the nominations of the President, Vice-President and Treasurer. The meeting on 26th June provided the results of these votes as well as an opportunity to thank the outgoing Board and welcome the incoming Board. The meeting also allowed for an open discussion about the issue of conflation between nursing and midwifery, a matter of serious concern to many Member Associations who are calling for clearer separation between nursing and midwifery so that midwifery can develop more strongly as an autonomous profession with a distinct identity and scope of practice for midwives. 

 If it was not for the current global pandemic, this meeting would have taken place in beautiful Bali, Indonesia as part of the 32nd ICM Triennial Congress. Despite our disappointment in not being able to connect with our community in person, we’re humbled by the ability to hear from midwives virtually and to discuss the strategic direction of ICM and its efforts to promote autonomous midwives as the most appropriate caregivers for childbearing women.  

The ICM Board was very pleased that Council delegates voted (with very high majorities) to approve two papers that will directly contribute to the future sustainability of ICM. These decisions resulted in revision to the current ICM membership fee structure with incremental increases to membership fees over the next triennium and a reduction in the number of regional Board members from 10 to 6 with effect from 2023. 

President Franka Cadee ended the meeting with an address that provided her vision for the future of ICM and inspired delegates for the work of the next triennium.  

On June 26th, during the 2020 ICM Council Meeting, we bid a farewell to Toyin Saraki in her role as ICM Global Goodwill Ambassador. HE Mrs. Toyin Saraki has held this position since 2014 and we’re extremely grateful for her unwavering advocacy of midwives, mothers, and newborns. 

On her departure from ICM, Mrs. Saraki said: “I am so proud to be able to say that partnering with the ICM, and traveling around the world to urge governments to invest in midwifery, will remain an unforgettable part of my life.” 

To Mrs. Saraki we say: these past six years with you as Global Goodwill Ambassador will remain an unforgettable part of ICM’s history as well. Thank you, thank you, thank you. 

 Follow-along with Mrs. Saraki’s continued advocacy work with Wellbeing Foundation Africa via her Instagram account.  

The Devex Duty of Care series looks at how health systems can function better so that health care workers are supported, protected, and empowered. As part of our contribution to this series, ICM President Franka Cadée, ICM Global Goodwill Ambassador Toyin Ojora-Saraki, and Young Midwife Leader Neha Mankani provide their thoughts on how to provide short- and long-term protection for women affected by COVID-19. 

Midwifery is one of the oldest professions in the world. For thousands of years midwives have accompanied women on their journeys from pregnancy to birth and beyond as irreplaceable companions, guides and guardians. What is it that makes the role of the midwife so enduring? And why is it still so important for women, families and our society today? This short film takes a modern look at the art of midwifery and why it should be recognised as part of the world’s intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO. 

Click on the link below to watch the video, using the password: UNESCO_DieHebamme