Midwife Connection

by Holly Powell Kennedy, ACNM President (pictured left), and Melissa Avery, ACNM Past President (pictured right)

The International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) holds a Council meeting of member associations every triennium prior to the ICM Congress. This year ACNM is represented by President Holly Powell Kennedy and Past President Melissa Avery in Durban, South Africa.

The ICM has provided visionary leadership to standardize the midwifery profession globally. Several ICM task forces have carefully crafted five inter-related documents to support the pillars of the profession: 1) Education, 2) Regulation, and 3) Association.

· Essential Competencies for Basic Midwifery Practice

· Global Standards for Midwifery Education

· International Definition of the Midwife (revised)

· Global Standards for Midwifery Regulation

· Member Association Capacity Assessment Tool

A strong majority of the Council members approved all of the documents. We will provide more information on this process and outcomes after the ICM Congress.