Australian College of Midwives president Joanne Gray.
“Midwives contribute to the wellbeing of society in such an important way,” says Joanne Gray, president of the Australian College of Midwives.
A midwife herself, with more than 30 years experience, Ms Gray says: “What we know as the gold standard of evidence throughout the world and Australia, is that when a woman has a midwife throughout her pregnancy to her birth she achieves better outcomes – both for herself and for her child.
“It’s so important for women to understand the choices they have, and having a day like this helps make women more aware of midwives and helps achieve these better outcomes.”
05 May, 2021 Source: Kensington Palace
Nursing Now royal patron Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge has spoken to Harriet Nayiga, founder and director of Midwife-led Community Transformation, a charity bridging the gap between midwives and communities in Uganda by focusing on adolescent sexual health. The charity has participated in Nursing Now’s Nightingale Challenge
The interview, published on International Day of the Midwife 2021, forms part of a special set of articles to celebrate the three-year Nursing Now initiative, which is drawing to a close this month.
HRH: It’s very nice to meet you, Harriet. I’d love to hear a bit about you and what inspired you to become a midwife.
THE STANDARD
OPINION
The world celebrates the International Day of the Midwife today, taking stock of the work done by this valuable cadre of health workers in our maternity units and other service delivery points of maternal and newborn care. It has been a challenging season since Covid-19 struck. It is worth reiterating that pregnancies do not stop even with crises.
The workload and working environment pose a great challenge to those providing midwifery services. The theme of this year’s celebration, “Follow the data, invest in midwives,” is a call on governments and all key stakeholders to use the data on maternal and newborn health, put money where it counts and invest in midwives.
New mums have been celebrating International Midwives Day by thanking their midwives for their care and support as they gave birth during the pandemic. Emma Penrice, of Workington, said: “Myself, and my other half, Jonathan Williams, would like to thank all the midwives and the team who helped bring baby Rory Williams into the world on April 17 at the West Cumberland Hospital. “For the majority of my care, I saw midwife Sarah Hargreaves, both in the community and on the labour ward. It was lovely to have a familiar face helping me through especially at the end when I felt all my energy was depleted.
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