International Day of the Midwife 2022, celebrated on 5 May, marked 100 years of progress. 

“Midwives are the world’s original first responders. They stood by us; now let’s stand by them.” - International Confederation of Midwives (ICM)

A message to our global community of midwives

“From the establishment of the first midwifery schools to the appointment of the first chief midwives and to the increasing numbers of direct-entry midwifery programmes and more and more women being able to access continuity of care from a known midwife, the past 100 years have seen the most consequential achievements of our age-old profession. And while we recognise the markers of progress look radically different from one region to the next, it’s important that we save space for our collaborative efforts and what the global evidence unequivocally indicates: increased investments in midwives and midwifery have led to healthier, happier families and communities in every corner of the world. As a global workforce and as individual midwives and midwives’ associations, we must continue advancing and mobilising this evidence to ensure the next 100 years are even more monumental for midwives, women, new-borns and all people.” - ICM

Use these social media messages and graphics to advocate for midwives and midwifery on and beyond 5 May 2022.

What did the ICM do for international day of the midwife 2022

More than 50,000 midwives participated in the What Women Want campaign with the White Ribbon Alliance (WRA). We conducted this survey to better understand the experiences of midwives, mothers, newborns, and their families. 

Click on the button below to find out more and download the official toolkit released by the ICM.

In Belgium, the International Midwives Union (IMU) was founded one hundred years ago. ICM aims to achieve growth by ensuring the sustainability of the organisation, strengthening our midwives' associations and the entire midwifery profession.