International Council of Midwifery (ICM)

The International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) promotes, represents, and seeks to strengthen professional midwifery societies worldwide. There are currently 127 Midwifery Associations representing 111 nations on all continents. Africa, the Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe are the four regions of ICM. These organizations collectively represent over 400,000 midwives worldwide.

The International College of Midwives (ICM) is an accredited non-governmental organization that represents midwives and midwifery to organizations worldwide in order to achieve common aims in the care of mothers and babies. The WHO and other UN Agencies, global professional health care organizations such as the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (FIGO), the International Paediatric Association (IPA), and the International Council of Nurses (ICN), non-governmental organizations, bilateral and civil society groups are among these organizations.

Vision

ICM envisions a world in which every woman of reproductive age has access to midwifery care for herself and her newborn.

Mission

To strengthen Midwife's Associations and advance the profession of midwifery globally by supporting autonomous midwives as the best caretakers for childbearing women and in keeping birth normal, in order to improve women's reproductive health, as well as the health of their newborns and families.

Main Activities

In 1987, the World Health Organization and other international agencies developed the Safe Motherhood Initiative, which was promptly backed by ICM. At the time, the number of women dying from maternal causes was believed to be at least 600,000 per year, with 99 percent of deaths occurring in underdeveloped countries.

The following resources are available to help enhance the Midwives Association:

1. Twinning is a formal and meaningful collaboration between two organizations.
2. Capacity assessment: the process of determining the level of development by measuring the efficiency and effectiveness of an organization's components.
3. Midwifery positioning and profiling: an event in which midwives are guided through the process of developing their identity, purpose, vision, strategy, and resources.
4. Leadership and management materials: guidance for strengthening and supporting member leadership and field advancement.

ICM Position Statement

1. Adequate intervention for youngsters
2. Basic and continuous education for midwives.
3. Breastfeeding
4. Collaboration and collaboration for healthy women and infants
5. Debt cancellation and other economic initiatives affecting maternal health and safety
6. Midwives' ethical obligations
7. HIV infection and exclusive breastfeeding
8. Genital mutilation in women.
9. Women's and children's health is a tragedy.
10. Childbearing heritage and culture
11. Birth at home
12. AIDS and HIV
13. Maintaining regular birth
14. Midwifery practice will be governed by legislation.
15. Midwifery is a self-contained profession.
16. Midwifery care for women having difficult births
17. Midwifery and the exploitation of women and children
18. Abortion-related services are provided by midwives.
19. Midwives must follow mother and baby-friendly employment regulations.
20. The collaboration of professional midwives and traditional caregivers who have midwifery expertise.
21. The collaboration of women and midwives.
22. Midwifery and reproductive health services planning and resources
23. The midwife's professional accountability
24. Midwifery teachers' qualifications and competencies
25. The Midwife's Role in Research
26. Sponsorship and commercial collaboration
27. The midwife is the health professional of choice for childbearing women.
28. Women, children, and midwives are vulnerable to conflict and civil turmoil.

References

• www.internationalmidwives.org/
• www.who.int/workforcealliance/members_partners/member_list/icm/en/
• www.healthynewbornnetwork.org › Partners
• Pathak, Sumita and Sochana Sapkota. A Textbook of Leadership and Management. Bhotahity, Kathmandu: Vidyarthi Pustak Bhandar, 2014.