They are essential for proper monitoring of pregnancy, but many midwives today feel that they cannot work properly. To reform their conditions of practice, Igas has drawn up a new report.
- Regarding midwives, the profession remains predominantly female, with 22,900 women practicing this profession, against only… 641 men.
- The profession is of particular interest to young people, since the average age of midwives is only 41.7 years, and only 36.3 years for midmen.
Pregnancy, childbirth, the first days of the baby’s life… Midwives are an integral part of the most important moments of our lives. However, the profession is going through a deep crisis, which resulted in strong social mobilizations at the start of 2021.
At the request of the Minister for Solidarity and Health and the Secretary of State for Children, the IGAS was therefore commissioned to analyze the situation and make recommendations on three essential aspects (and of equal importance) of the profession of midwife: their missions, their status (in the hospital) and their training.
A blurred professional identity
The exercise of the profession of midwife is centered on the follow-up of pregnancy, childbirth, postnatal care of the mother and child and the gynecological follow-up of patients. Over the years, however, their missions have been successively extended (in connection with abortion, vaccination, etc.) “leading to blurring the identity of this profession”, notes the Igas in his new report. Furthermore, if midwives belong to the medical professions, their management brings them de facto closer to paramedical professionals, and “places them in an ‘in between’ which weakens their positioning and their regular interactions with other healthcare professionals”continue the experts.
Increase remuneration
Igas thus makes several recommendations in its report, and in particular:
– to refocus the profession of midwife on the management of physiological pregnancy and gynecological follow-up, by coordinating with the various players in the sector.
– to define a specific public official status.
– to significantly increase the remuneration of midwives, all modes of practice combined.
– to improve their working conditions.
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