Celebrating International Midwife Day – 5th May

In Australia, there are over 300,000 mums giving birth every year and Midwives support 70 per cent of them. Now with International Midwives’ Day taking place on 5th May 2017, Medela Australia embarked on a survey with 7,800 Australian Mums to explore just how much Midwives influence new mums’ confidence and introduction to motherhood.

The survey reveals that surprisingly, the role a midwife plays goes beyond providing practical and physical medical support. A staggering 82 per cent of new mums reported feeling more confident entering into motherhood specifically because of her positive experience with a midwife.

The advice a new mum received from a midwife made a difference too, with 88 per cent of respondents clearly benefiting from the helpful or very helpful advice bestowed onto them. Advice from midwives ranged from practical suggestions for breastfeeding, pain relief, labour strategies, as well as emotional coping strategies and words of wisdom.

“The support I got from my midwives at the hospital went beyond breastfeeding advice and how to bathe my baby. They helped me cope emotionally with the baby blues which came as a huge shock to me. Saying thank you is not enough – there are no words to describe how they helped me” Jessie, 33.

Most mums, 62 per cent, have received conflicting advice from midwives, demonstrating that receiving conflicting advice is normal, common and provides an opportunity for mums to select which advice to take on board. There were 57 per cent of respondents who dealt with conflicting advice by selecting the advice that best worked for them. The other 33 per cent turned to alternative sources such as online networks, family, doctor.

In the first 6 weeks of motherhood when mums are feeling more emotional and less confident, mums most valued the support from partners, their own mothers and midwives before online communities, followed by their doctor. Beyond the 6-week mark, results evolved with mums more likely to favour online support.