How to Celebrate International Midwives Day

International Midwives Day was first celebrated on May 5, 1991. Since that time, it has been celebrated every year on May 5 and over 50 nations recognize its importance. Midwifery care is needed internationally. Midwives fill a special role in maternity care by decreasing maternal and neonatal mortality rates. Midwives honor mothers and babies, and they believe in the ability to birth without unnecessary intervention. Celebrating this day will bring more positive publicity to midwifery care that will entitle women to a larger selection of birth choices.

Instructions

1. If you are a birth professional, plan a picnic in the park for the families you have served in the past. Make it a public event and have the families share with others how midwifery care has helped them and what the benefits are of having midwives in our maternity care network.

2. Make flyers, posters or postcards about midwives and International Midwives Day and pass them out around the neighborhood to celebrate midwives and raise awareness in your community. You can also pass them out at local stores, malls or other public places. Make sure that you have approval from the store owners before doing so.

3. Give a local speech at a place of worship, hospital or clinic about midwifery services and why midwives are essential to maternity care. If you can, have families who have had experiences with midwives come and talk about these experiences and what it meant to them to have additional options.

4. If you like to write, write and submit an article about International Midwives Day to a local paper or radio show. You can also submit the article to several resources online.

5. Obtain a proclamation recognizing this day from the governor or other local officials. Everyone is sure to pay more attention to this day if the authorities in the community recognize it. In addition, getting local officials involved may positively publicize midwifery in ways you hadn't imagined.

6. Honor the local midwives of your community. Get names and addresses and send them a fruit basket or just a letter of appreciation for the work they do. You can also take them to lunch.

Resources

• International Confederation of Midwives
• Midwifery Today