Each ICM MA, along with a specified number of its members, is invited to attend one of the below event dates:

ICM Member Association, the New Zealand College of Midwives (the College) is a leader in climate initiatives for a greener midwifery workforce.

The College hosts a dedicated section about climate change on their web page, which includes information about climate sustainability and ways to take action. The web page also posts links to significant documents and articles about climate change and identifies actions midwives can take to reduce their carbon footprint personally and professionally. Topics also include how midwives can support women and parents to learn more about climate change issues, sustainability and parenting.

In September, ICM Young Midwife Leaders (YMLs) and Executive Midwife Leaders (EMLs) traveled from their respective home countries to Aarhus, Denmark to attend the International Normal Labour and Birth Research Conference (NLNB22). For many of the young midwives, it was the first time they had traveled so far from home, and some completed journeys over 30 hours long in order to attend the global event.

The YMLs’ and EMLs’ attendance at NLNB22 brought a diverse range of topics and perspectives to each session and inspired great personal and team development. Attendance at global midwifery conferences is an important aspect of learning for YMLs and EMLs; Meeting in-person and having the opportunity to speak about their work in public forums cements the team dynamic and forms strong bonds within their community of practice.

The Rwanda More Happy Birthdays Project, supported by Latter Day Saints Charities (LDSC) and the Rwanda Ministry of Health, has concluded after a successful year. The project’s main objective was to improve competencies of healthcare providers in maternal and neonatal services through innovative clinical trainings and mentorships, using a low-dose and high-frequency approach.

The project builds upon the successes of the approach used in the 50 000 Happy Birthdays (50KHB) project (2018-2020). The consortium of partners supports the Rwanda Ministry of Health/Rwanda Biomedical Center (MoH/ RBC) to implement training and LDHF practice in 112 health facilities in Rwanda using the traditional training resources and integrating the digital learning tool, the Safe Delivery App (SDA). Activities to strengthen the Rwanda Association Midwives (RAM) aim to support and provide continuing professional development opportunities, increase membership and visibility of the Association, and become more sustainable.

ICM is looking to create a Working Group to discuss and explore how ICM can implement its position statement on the Partnership between Indigenous and non-Indigenous midwives, approved by the ICM Council in June 2021. This includes advising ICM on how midwives can best support Indigenous women and their midwives.

If you are interested in becoming a member of ICM’s Working Group on Indigenous Midwifery, then please state your interest by completing the form you will find in the Request for Expressions of Interest and send to membership@internationalmidwives.org by 5pm (CET) Wednesday 19 October 2022. We aim to respond to applications by 11 November 2022 and plan to have the first meeting before the end of 2022. Please do not hesitate to reach out to membership@internationalmidwives.org with any questions.

It will have been six years since ICM’s last in-person global gathering, and we are so honoured and excited to come together with you for this momentous occasion! The theme for the 2023 Congress, 'Together again: from evidence to reality,' reflects our excitement for face-to-face engagement and points to the work we’re undertaking to implement the evidence which continues to demonstrate the investment case for midwives. 

Visit the ICM Triennial Congress event page to see registration fees, packages and deadlines, and to complete your registration.  

This month, a number of ICM Young Midwife Leader (YML) alumni took part in a fascinating podcast episode to discuss their perspectives on leadership as midwives.

The Women Emerging Expedition Podcast, run by the non-profit organization, Women Emerging has set out to discover an approach to leadership that resonates with women by launching a virtual Expedition. Their podcast explores women and leadership from a different perspective in a series of lively, wide-ranging discussions, talking to women all over the world who are dealing with tough leadership challenges in their daily lives, discovering the barriers they face and how they are overcoming them; they share their experiences, insights and advice as well as informing and illustrating the progress of the Expedition while its underway.

WithWomen Charity improves women's access to resourced, supported midwives by means of quality standards, global advocacy and unified action.

In May of this year, ICM announced a partnership with the newly launched WithWomen charity. WithWomen will raise vital funds towards elevating the practice of midwifery and improving the birth experience for women and birthing people everywhere.

The funds raised by WithWomen will be used towards:

• Strengthening the capacity of ICM midwives’ associations
• Strengthening education of midwives around the world
• Providing direct, financial support to member associations in need, particularly those impacted by climate and/or humanitarian crisis.

Dear colleagues and partners, greetings from the board once again! My name is Florencia, I am the regional representative for Latin American countries and I am here to shortly update you on the topics we discussed on our last board meeting.

As you may already know, we have a Governance and FAR Committee, with 4 members each. Their work is on track and the meetings for the rest of the year have been already planned.