5 May marked the International Day of the Midwife, which is celebrated all around the world. The Malta Midwives Association forms part of the southern European region and during the International Midwives Conference, held in January this year, it was agreed that a common activity would be held all over the region to mark this event. The idea was to organise a campaign on 5 May to promote natural birth and at mid-day central European time, midwives all over the southern European region would release hundreds of white balloons with blue letters reading “Keeping birth normal”.

In the morning of 5 May, a large number of midwives met at Freedom Square Valletta, wearing T-shirts that read, “I was born into the hands of a midwife”, in line with the chosen theme of natural birth. During this activity midwives spoke with the general public, especially women, about the advantages of keeping birth normal and that while medicalisation of labour and birth was important, mothers should be aware of the options available and the positive aspects of having normal births.

After a couple of hours walking around Valletta and talking to the public, the midwives then walked to the Upper Barrakka Gardens and at noon let off the balloons.

The theme for this year’s celebration was chosen on the grounds of researched evidence. The evidence suggests that birth technologies and medicalisation of childbirth, which are not always based on clinical needs, seem to dominate all over the developed world. This established trend increases the possibility of long-term physical and psycho-social problems for both mother and baby. “We often get mothers asking for a Caesarean to avoid the pain associated with labour. This is either due to lack of knowledge or misconceptions as mothers who go through a Caesarean know how painful this is in the long run and mothers must be aware that this is a major operation unlike a normal birth,” commented Angela Formosa, president of the Midwives Association who also stressed the importance of proper preparation of parents-to-be through professionally prepared antenatal classes.

In the early evening a thanksgiving mass for all midwives and their families was held at the Santa Rita Chapel on the Verdala Palace grounds by Fr B. Mangion. The International Day of the Midwives came to an end with a dinner at Ristorante Cosmana Navarra in Rabat, which was well-attended with over 60 midwives. At the dinner the president of the Association, Ms Formosa, thanked all the midwives involved in making this day a success.