International Day of the Midwife at University Hospital Waterford

Midwives at University Hospital Waterford joined colleagues worldwide in their profession on Tuesday 5th of May to mark the International Day of the Midwife.

Promoted by the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM), International Day of the Midwife celebrates and raises awareness about the midwivery profession.

“One Million More Midwives” is the theme of this year’s International Day of the Midwife, as the ICM highlights the need for an additional midwives worldwide to meet the sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn and adolescent health needs of women.

International Day of the Midwife

Speaking about events at University Hospital Waterford (UHW), which included an information stand running a raffle at the main foyer, Janet Murphy (Director of Midwifery, UHW) said:

“International Day of the Midwife recognises the vital role midwives play in maternal and newborn health. Midwives at UHW and other hospitals perform a vital service in providing care and support to women and their families while pregnant, throughout labour and during the period after a baby’s birth. We are rostered 24 hours, 365 days of the year, always there to ensure our patients are receiving high quality care that we have been trained to provide.”

“On this day we celebrate the multifaceted impact of midwifery in maternity services (e.g. postnatal hubs, specialised antenatal clinics), belonging in a diverse and global workforce, reflecting the impact of advanced practice and emerging roles that strengthen Ireland’s maternity care and showcase leadership, adaptation and the continued evolution of a profession that ensures every woman and newborn receives exceptional, person-centred care.”

Midwifery Services at UHW

There were 1,528 births at UHW last year, including 32 sets of twins. In addition to being the maternity hospital local to mothers in Co. Waterford and South Kilkenny, UHW is also the regional centre in the South East for specialist gynocological and maternity care.

The Maternity Dept. in UHW has delivery rooms, as well as a three bedded “1st stage” room, obstetric theatre and recovery room within the delivery suite. There is also an antenatal and gynaecology surgical ward. Alongside this, UHW has an Early Pregnancy Unit, which is a midwife-led scanning space that deals with early pregnancy issues. The postnatal ward in UHW is also the base for the Newborn Hearing Screening Service and for the Integrated Hospital and Community Midwifery Service (IHCMS). The IHCMS delivers home births for Waterford city and county.

The maternity service at UHW has a standalone Maternity and Gynaecology Outpatients Unit, which is adjacent to the maternity unit for convenience.

In addition to antenatal clinics in UHW, there is also midwife led antenatal clinic in Dungarvan to support women in that part of Co. Waterford and to minimise journeys into the hospital.

The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) in UHW caring for babies requiring intensive and special care. These babies are born in UHW or transferred in from the other three maternity departments of hospitals in the South East region.

UHW also offer a midwifery led DOMINO (Domiciliary Care Inside and Outside of Hospital) model to encourage and support normal childbirth with minimum intervention. A woman’s choice is facilitated where it is safe to do so.