Today is International Day of the Midwife. You can expect to see lots of blog fodder circulating the web today, highlighting the work midwives do near and far. In honor of this day, one of our local midwives has organized a hike for folks to enjoy together (amazingly, the Montana spring snow has stopped...the sun is out, just in time!) in observation of the event orchestrated by the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM). On this day, members and supporters of ICM around the world will be undertaking a 5km walks - representing the 5km walk into Durban, South Africa on June 18th which will kick off their Triennial Congress meeting. The theme of the meeting? "The world needs midwives now more than ever."

In fact, International Day of the Midwife was established by ICM in 1992 after a decade of discussions and idea-sharing amongst members of its now 101 chapters. This day of jubilation occurs each year on May 5, with the aim to, "celebrate midwifery and to bring awareness of the importance of midwives' work to as many people as possible."

Scheduled to be released at the Triennial Congress is the State of the World's Midwifery report. With the world (and, indeed, our own country) drastically lagging behind the fifth Millennium Development Goal of improving maternal and infant mortality numbers, many organizations are looking to midwifery care as a means to addressing this problem.

ICM works closely with WHO, UNFPA, UNICEF and other organizations with the common goal of improving the care for and well-being of mothers and children. The history of this non-profit NGO is an interesting one, dating back to the early 1900s in Antwerp, Belgium (following a meeting of over 1,000 midwives in Berlin - orchestrated without the conveniences of telephone, internet or airplane travel). With member organizations now spanning 96 countries, the ICM has become a true international organization. Headquartered in the Hague, Netherlands, the organization is commandeered by President Bridget Lynch. You can watch a message from Ms. Lynch here.

To our midwifery friends and colleagues all over this country, and around the world I say, Happy International Day of the Midwife!

Posted by: Kimmelin Hull, PA, LCCE

Published: May 04, 2011

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