Midwifery profession with a future? Thoughts of a doula

Is midwifery a profession with a future? Doula and midwife to be Katrine Johansen has reflected on the situation for midwives from her perspective and with reference to Denmark

(literally translated from Danish)

I thought long and hard about how I would write this. About midwives, about their work. A rather complex field with so many nuances. When you think about the fact that the independent work of the midwife is quite crucial for the health of future families and the beginning of family life, and where "us" is most needed, there are fewer "us". From a global perspective, we are fighting a constant battle over the over- and under-treatment of women and children in pregnancy, childbirth and maternity. Some do not have access to help and treatment, while others are unnecessarily over-treated with potentially harmful interventions. New studies show that universal access to midwifery care can prevent more than 60% of all deaths among mothers and newborns. That is 4.3 million women and newborns' lives can be saved every year. Read these two lines again.

There is no doubt that midwifery is a respected and unique profession, but in recent years the trend towards increased medicalisation, centralisation and standardisation in obstetrics and health care has given less room for the midwife's independent business sector. And some pregnant women choose midwives because they do not feel welcome in the health care system. Food for thought, I think. The midwifery profession (in Denmark) is lagging behind when it comes to research and further development of the profession and thus its position in modern society, and there is even talk of a recent 3 month training course being pushed to its maximum beforehand. An education of how many will have to take holiday (or sick if they burn out) to get through this. If it happens, I have no doubt that it will have a huge impact on the lives in our hands and public health in general.

I have no answer to my reflections and I don't really know where it leads me, except that I am here, in the limbo of midwifery students, and I feel how much I am existentially moved to be here and challenged in my own understanding that this is truly a means of being human. These are big words, but they have to be when it comes to helping when new life is brought into the world.