 A pregnant woman receives an ultrasound examination from a midwife sonographer | |
| Occupation | |
|---|---|
| Names | Midwife[1] |
Occupation type | Professional |
Activity sectors | Midwifery, obstetrics, newborn care, women's health, reproductive health |
| Description | |
| Competencies | Knowledge, professional behaviour and specific skills in family planning, pregnancy, labour, birth, postpartum period, newborn care, women's health, reproductive health, and social, epidemiologic and cultural context of midwifery[2] |
Education required |
|
Fields of employment | hospitals, clinics, health units, maternity units, birth centers, private practices, home births, community, etc. |
Related jobs | obstetrician, gynecologist, pediatrician |
A midwife (pl.: midwives) is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialization known as midwifery.
The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their lifespan; concentrating on being experts in what is normal and identifying conditions that need further evaluation. In most countries, midwives are recognized as skilled healthcare providers. Midwives are trained to recognize variations from the normal progress of labor and understand how to deal with deviations from normal. They may intervene in high risk situations such as breech births, twin births, using non-invasive techniques. For complications related to pregnancy and birth that are beyond the midwife's scope of practice, including surgical and instrumental deliveries, they refer their patients to physicians or surgeons.[3][4] In many parts of the world, these professions work in tandem to provide care to childbearing women. In others, only the midwife is available to provide care, and in yet other countries, many women elect to use obstetricians primarily over midwives.
Many developing countries are investing money and training for midwives, sometimes by upskilling those people already practicing as traditional birth attendants. Some primary care services are currently lacking, due to a shortage of funding for these resources.
- ^ "International Definition of the Midwife". International Confederation of Midwives. Archived from the original on 22 September 2017. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
- ^ "Essential Competencies for Basic Midwifery Practice". International Confederation of Midwives (ICM). Archived from the original on 8 October 2017. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
- ^ Epstein, Abby (9 January 2008). "The Business of Being Born (film)". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 13 February 2009. Retrieved 30 October 2009.
- ^ Carson, A (May–June 2016). "Midwifery around the World: A study in the role of midwives in local communities and healthcare systems". Annals of Global Health. 82 (3). Elsevier Inc: 381. doi:10.1016/j.aogh.2016.04.617.