The Australian College of Midwives is our national body.  Our national office is located in Canberra.

www.midwives.org.au  
Phone: 1300 360 480

The Australian College of Midwives is a national, not-for-profit organisation that serves as the peak professional body for midwives. It provides a unified political voice for the midwifery profession, supports midwives to reach their full potential, and sets professional practice and education standards. It is also committed to ensuring all childbearing women have access to continuity of care by a known midwife. Our vision is to be the leading organisation shaping Australian maternity care.

College President Professor Pat Brodie

ACM Philosophy Statement for Midwifery

Midwife means ‘with woman’. This meaning shapes midwifery’s philosophy, work and relationships.

Midwifery is founded on respect for women and on a strong belief in the value of women’s work of bearing and rearing each generation.

Midwifery considers women in pregnancy, during childbirth and early parenting to be undertaking healthy processes that are profound and precious events in each woman’s life. These events are also seen as inherently important to society as a whole.

Midwifery is emancipatory because it protects and enhances the health and social status of women, which in turn protects and enhances the health and wellbeing of society.

Midwifery is a woman centred, political, primary health care discipline founded on the relationships between women and their midwives. Midwifery:

• focuses on a woman’s health needs, her expectations and aspirations
• encompasses the needs of the woman’s baby, and includes the woman’s family, her other important relationships and community, as identified and negotiated by the woman herself
• is holistic in its approach and recognises each woman’s social, emotional, physical, spiritual and cultural needs, expectations and context as defined by the woman herself
• recognises every woman’s right to self-determination in attaining choice, control and continuity of care from one or more known caregivers
• recognises every woman’s responsibility to make informed decisions for herself, her baby and her family with assistance, when requested, from health professionals
• is informed by scientific evidence, by collective and individual experience and by intuition
• aims to follow each woman across the interface between institutions and the community, through pregnancy, labour and birth and the postnatal period so all women remain connected to their social support systems; the focus is on the woman, not on the institutions or the professionals involved
• includes collaboration and consultation between health professionals.

 

ACM Philosophy and Position Statements

3. Midwives Accountability for defining the Midwives Role


The Australian College of Midwives (ACM) observes with great concern the trend in many areas to erode midwifery functions potentially undermining the quality of care.

The economic policies and health practices in many states and territories put undue emphasis on obstetric intervention rather than midwifery care. This limits the potential of midwives in their primary health care role.

It is the responsibility of all midwives to enhance the status and reputation of their profession by commenting/advising on those economic/social policies and health practices affecting the delivery of quality midwifery care.

ACM believes that the midwifery role must be that defined by the midwifery profession and that midwifery education and midwifery services must be planned and directed by qualified midwives. ACM urges its members to promote this position in order to protect standards of midwifery care provided to families.


Ratified May 2001