Midwives deserve recognition
International Day of the Midwife, celebrated around the world tomorrow, is a perfect opportunity for all New Zealanders
to recognise a profession that plays a vital role in the health sector but is often overlooked, Labour’s Health
spokesperson Annette King says.
“Midwives are at the forefront of maternity care - more than 90 per cent of Kiwi mums have a midwife as their lead
maternity carer, providing support during pregnancy, birth and for up to six weeks after a baby is born.
“Their work has contributed to world-leading service and reductions in infant and maternal mortality, premature births,
and low birth weight rates.
“Midwives, along with other women’s groups, took and won this country’s first equal pay for equal work case and in 1990
won the right to practice independently of nurses, opening up new ways of working. There are now some 2700 midwives in
New Zealand.
“Despite that, the profession is still struggling for recognition in some quarters, not least of which is the
Government’s super agency, MBIE, whose annual ‘Occupational Outlook’ report completely ignores midwifery as a career
option.
“Promoted by the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, the publication does a huge disservice to what is, of necessity, a
female-dominated profession, by doing so.
“Tomorrow would be the perfect time to make amends,” Annette King said.
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