Youth Day 2026 is about young people having real opportunity and a voice in shaping their future. Over the past year, the Royal College of Midwives in the UK shared 9 blogs with us on why and how midwifery associations should engage, support, and champion their students. 🔗 zurl.co/uNQaQ

By investing in those who teach the next generation of midwives, we can build a more resilient workforce and improve care around the world. This #ResourceTuesday, we want to highlight how strong midwifery education starts with strong midwifery educators. 🔗: zurl.co/bVb9y

This narrative review highlights the value of interprofessional education in midwifery training, showing how learning alongside other health professionals helps strengthen communication, teamwork and mutual understanding. Read more: zurl.co/omSoi

Waminda's Birthing on Country model is a comprehensive programme in Australia that combines professional midwifery expertise with cultural safety, community leadership, & ancestral knowledge. For the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, we spoke with Melanie. 🔗: zurl.co/3fVsh

Midwife Yuri Kudo and her patient Aiko Takemoto during a postnatal checkup at Yajima midwifery clinic in Tokyo, Japan. 📸 by Noriko Hayashi

📣 "Do not wait for permission to lead." Watch Magda Robalo's opening keynote during the first plenary session at the 34th ICM Triennial Congress, and discover what leadership really means for our profession. The full recording of the plenary is on our YouTube now: zurl.co/bqBCY

This #WorldBreastfeedingWeek, we're sharing the story of Jane Mbaluka, a Kenyan midwife whose mission has become to advocate for the orphaned newborns when the mother isn’t there to exclusively breastfeed them. Read Jane's inspiring story & why she's calling for system-level change: zurl.co/qtM4y

The Global Competencies for Midwife Leaders provide the first global framework to support & strengthen midwifery leadership, equipping midwives with the knowledge & skills needed to influence practice & health systems. This #ResourceTuesday discover how leadership can transform care: zurl.co/LzmU8

The climate crisis is a health, gender equality & human rights issue. Around the world, women and girls are disproportionately affected by climate-related disasters, yet health systems continue to fall short in protecting their sexual and reproductive health and rights. Learn more: zurl.co/14ZSb

A review found that the term midwifery intervention is often used without a clear definition, reducing midwives' role to simply carrying out clinical procedures. Defining what sets midwifery apart is key to strengthening education, research, policy, and practice. Read more: zurl.co/VCUGD

A concept analysis of the term midwifery intervention: A scoping review

Introduction: The term midwifery intervention or midwife intervention regularly occurs in scientific literature, without consistent understanding of what it implies. In modern maternity care where new technological interventions are constantly applied in practice, it is important to identify...

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Did you miss the announcement at the closing ceremony of the ICM Congress? It's official, the 35th ICM Triennial Congress will be held from 4-7 June 2029 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates and our co-hosts will be the Emirates Nursing Association: Midwifery Society!

A new position statement on this #ResourceTuesday, highlights the Right to Birth Companionship. Birth companions provide emotional, physical and informational support that improves outcomes, reduces unnecessary interventions, and strengthens women's experiences of care. 🔗: zurl.co/Oegry

This World Hepatitis Day, we're amplifying the voices of midwives. Midwives play a vital role in preventing hepatitis through antenatal care, newborn vaccination, health education and ensuring families have access to timely testing and treatment, improving health outcomes across generations.

Women's health continues to be underfunded, understudied, and too often overlooked in clinical practice. While evidence supporting interventions such as midwifery models of care and choice of birth setting continues to grow, implementation continues to lag. Read more: zurl.co/JgKKH

After the devastating earthquakes in Morocco, midwives organise and plan their intervention for the affected communities. The Moroccan Association of Midwives worked at a caravan in the Atlas Mountains, providing SRMNA health services to the affected community. 📸 by Badr el Hardag

During the closing ceremony of the ICM Triennial Congress, we officially handed over the signatures from the One Million More Midwives campaign to the Midwifery Accelerator Coalition. The handover is not the end, we will build on this momentum to advocate for more.

On this #ResourceTuesday, explore our updated statement on Home Birth. Evidence shows that for women at low risk, planned home birth offers comparable outcomes to hospital birth, with lower rates of unnecessary intervention and higher satisfaction. 🔗: zurl.co/YV765

Evidence from South Carolina shows that abortion bans can delay or deny medically necessary care, force the continuation of high-risk pregnancies, complicate miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy management, and contribute to worsening maternal health outcomes. Read the research: zurl.co/O7Tgl

Experts from around the world have identified the most urgent sexual and reproductive health and rights research priorities—from protecting access to contraception and maternal and newborn care during climate-related crises. Read more: zurl.co/lLrV0

Research priorities in sexual and reproductive health and rights and climate change: Results of a consensus building and prioritisation process

Recent literature suggests that climate change can impact sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) outcomes, especially since climate-related events may exacerbate persistent inequalities based on gender, disability status, sexual orientation, and age, among others. Climate change can also impact health infrastructure with an impact on SRHR access and outcomes. However, data are scarce when it comes to certain topical areas, types of evidence, and in using an intersectional approach. Based on a prior expert consultation exercise, we conducted a consensus and priority setting process to develop a list of priority research questions at the intersection of climate change and SRHR. For this, in 2024, we completed an iterative process over three rounds consisting of online surveys and consultations, following modified Delphi and Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative (CHNRI) methodologies for which 100 people were included. For round one, 56 people responded to the 17-question survey framed around topical areas in SRHR, research methodologies, and intersectionality; 39 people participated in the online consultation. The round two survey had 36 respondents and 41 participants to the online consultation. The third round included a survey with a list of 31 questions that respondents were asked to prioritize. A final list of ten questions emerged which highlighted important areas where there continue to be gaps in evidence, including maternal and perinatal health, contraception and abortion access, and gender-based violence. Other critical areas include intersectional issues regarding gender and poverty and comprehensive sex education. The list can serve as a starting point to guide the SRHR research community to generate the evidence needed for policy action.

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As the ICM 2026 Congress comes to a close, we extend our heartfelt thanks to the Portuguese Association of Midwives (APEO) for being exceptional co-hosts throughout this unforgettable journey.

On this #ResourceTuesday, our updated statement on Midwives and Violence Against Women and Children, provides practical guidance to support midwives in delivering compassionate, survivor-centred care, while strengthening prevention, early identification and referral pathways. 🔗: zurl.co/3o8C2

In this study, midwives in Gaza describe working under unimaginable conditions. Their experiences highlight the resilience, compassion, and professionalism of midwives in humanitarian crises, while underscoring the urgent need for better preparedness, training, & resources. Read more: zurl.co/Q3xcC

Birth in shelters: Midwives’ lived experiences in providing childbirth care amidst war in Gaza

Background The warfare against the Gaza Strip in the occupied Palestinian territory, starting in October 2023, caused massive destruction of infrastructure, including homes and hospitals. Within two years (October 2023 to October 2025), most of the 2.1 million inhabitants were displaced, and more than 69,500 people were directly killed, of whom more than 70% were women and children. To enhance preparedness in maternal care during war, it is important to understand how midwives respond to emergencies in conflict zones. This study seeks to explore the experiences of midwives in delivering childbirth care to women in Gaza within shelters, tents, and amidst the rubble during wartime. Materials and methods We employed a descriptive qualitative phenomenological design. We used a purposeful snowball sampling approach to identify midwives who had assisted women in giving birth in shelters or tents during the war. Face-to-face in-depth interviews were conducted with nine midwives between January and April 2025, and underwent reflexive thematic analysis. Results An overarching theme was identified: “Midwives torn between fear and professional compassion while struggling for humanity in a ruthless war”. Three additional themes were developed: “Unprotected in ruthless warfare”, “Professional role and contradictive emotions”, and “Challenges and potentials for midwives during war and emergencies”. Conclusions The study recommends the development of clear preparedness policies aligned with midwives’ scope of practice that support their professional role when caring for pregnant women in war, emergency, and humanitarian contexts. Given the volatile context of the oPt, Palestinian midwives should be actively involved in preparedness strategies for emergency response. They need guidance, support, necessary supplies, connection to backup resources, and training to assist births safely outside hospital settings.

journals.plos.org

Gabriela Meléndez, midwife from Guatemala provides contraceptive counseling at the midwifery center of Corazón del Agua Association, which in addition to providing sexual and reproductive health services, is a midwifery training center. 📸 by Carla Molina

Catch up with all that happened at the ICM Triennial Congress in our newsletter. Don't miss the opportunity to download the pictures from Congress, watch the recordings from the plenary sessions, & access all the resources that were launched or updated during Council. Subscribe here: zurl.co/hcmKz

This #ResourceTuesday, we share the updated statement on Unnecessary Interventions and the Risk of Harm for Women and Newborns. Midwives support physiological birth, recognise when interventions are truly needed, & help women make informed decisions throughout their care. Access it: zurl.co/ve4kF

Age, income, care setting, trust in healthcare providers, and perceptions of convenience all influence decisions about caesarean birth, while education, counselling, and supportive maternity care can help women make informed choices. Read the full research: zurl.co/ph1iN

Preferences for caesarean sections among women in Andhra Pradesh, India

Discover Public Health - Caesarean section (CS) rates have been rising steadily worldwide, including in India, due to several factors affecting women's preferences. The present study aimed to...

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Midwives are often the professionals most present during labour and birth, yet many continue to face barriers to practising autonomously despite being trained, competent, and legally recognised to do so. Learn more: zurl.co/nq9BO

In Ethiopia, Dawit Tamiru is helping shape the next generation of midwives through education, mentorship, and a commitment to high-quality, respectful care. Meet Dawit: zurl.co/ncogp

This #ResourceTuesday, we are happy to share the new position statement on Establishing the Position of a National Chief Midwife. Establishing this position ensures midwives have a voice in health policy, workforce planning, and decision-making at the highest level. Discover it: zurl.co/WfpM6

Abortion barriers exist globally. But there's a solution already within reach. New research from Ontario demonstrates that midwife-led abortion care improves access, client experiences, and continuity across sexual and reproductive health needs. Read more: zurl.co/eBBJy

Experiences of midwife-led abortion care through Ontario’s expanded midwifery care models: an interpretive description study

Abortion is time-sensitive, and barriers to care such as a lack of providers, long wait times, multiple appointments in different locations, and discr…

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