Midwifery: A Worldwide Commitment to Women and the Newborn

Jane Sandall and Holly Kennedy as co-chairs of the ICM Research Standing Committee were appointed to the Scientific Programme Planning Committee for the 2008 ICM Congress in Glasgow and worked for 3 years to processing and then selecting the scientific abstracts for the programme. Over 3000 midwives from 80 countries participated in the congress with King’s staff presenting 25 papers and 3 posters. Two students also presented a poster sponsored by the Iolanthe Trust. Following an invitation from the Japan Academy of Midwives, Gill Aston facilitated an invited workshop for the Japan Academy of Midwives on our cutting edge research and educational programmes of study at undergraduate, post qualification and post graduate levels. The Princess Royal paid tribute to midwives and officially opened what was an exciting scientific and professional programme. During the congress Sarah Brown, wife of the UK Prime Minister said that “midwives have a particularly powerful voice in calling for change” and announced an international campaign to reduce the numbers of deaths during and after childbirth.