Southern DHB celebrating International Midwives Day

4 May 2016

Southern DHB celebrating International Midwives Day with cake and immunisations

Tomorrow is International Day of the Midwife, and Southern DHB will be recognising and celebrating the work of its midwives who play an indispensable and critical role at every point of maternity care.

The theme this year is 'Women and Newborns: The Heart of Midwifery'. Midwives around the world work hard every day to ensure women and newborns receive the quality care that they deserve and this day provides an opportunity for women and midwives all over the world to unite and focus the world’s attention on the work of midwives.

Midwives provide care to women and their baby’s pre, during and post birthing in a variety of settings whether at home, at a birthing unit or in the maternity units in our hospitals.

Each year approximately 1800 babies are born in Dunedin Hospital and approximately 1200 are born each year in Southland Hospital, with a further 500 born at home or in primary maternity units. Every single birth has a midwife involved in caring for the mother and her baby.

This year, Southern DHB is celebrating with cake and immunisations. Southern DHB midwives and Lead Maternity Carers (LMC’s) will be treated to an afternoon tea and free vaccinations of the influenza and boostrix (whooping cough) immunisations at Dunedin, Southland and Lakes District Hospitals.

“We thought it was a great idea to combine our celebrations with immunisation week celebrations and offer free boostrix vaccinations to our midwives. It’s extremely important for babies to be immunised but it’s also equally important for our midwives to be protected too. It’s a way for the DHB to support both our own midwives and community based midwives so they can have access to free immunisations,” said Southern DHB Midwifery Director, Jenny Humphries.

“Midwives do a fantastic job and it’s fitting that International Midwives day ensures that their work and ongoing commitment to the health of women and their babies in this community is recognised and celebrated,” she said.

ENDS

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