When we talk about workforce development in midwifery, I believe we have to ask a very basic question: Who actually has access to becoming a midwife, and what can we do collectively to make that pathway more accessible?

Midwifery stands at the intersection of clinical care, cultural tradition, and community trust. Yet, the global development of the midwifery workforce has too often mirrored inequities found across health systems, where Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) are underrepresented in formal leadership, under-resourced in training pathways, and undervalued despite generations of knowledge and practice.

The North American Registry of Midwives (NARM) and the National Association of Certified Professional Midwives (NACPM) recently learned of the Midwifery Education Accreditation Council’s (MEAC’s) decision to withdraw from recognition by the U.S. Department of Education. Neither NARM nor NACPM participated in or had advance notice of that decision.

Growth, 34th ICM Triennial Congress, scholarships, and more!

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Greetings from Lisbon, Portugal, where more than 3,000 midwives from around the world have gathered for the 34th Triennial Congress of the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM).

I come before you very humbly because I believe many of us feel this tension every single day in our work. We feel the divide within midwifery. We feel the pressure to choose a side.