The Midwifery Council have published their third attempt at a Midwifery Scope of Practice, and they continue to cancel common sense and biology.

The latest proposal was sent out for feedback last Thursday – ironically, two days before International Women’s Day.

They say in their introduction that they are "proposing to amend the wording of the revised Midwifery Scope of Practice, that came into effect on 1 October 2024, in order to provide greater clarity for kahu pōkai | midwives and the public."

Women and mothers have been reduced to “individuals capable of childbearing”.

Amended Midwifery Scope of Practice

The primary obligation of a kāhu pokai | midwife is to provide whānau-centred care for individuals (however they may identify) who are capable of childbearing and who are preparing for pregnancy, pregnant, birthing, and post-partum up to six weeks.

In an additional insult, Parliament's Regulations Review Committee which dealt with all the complaints made against the first proposals wrote:

We found use of the word “persons” (as in “women/persons”) unclear in the Scope. Although we understand the Council’s intent to use inclusive language, we believe it is important to clarify that a midwife’s primary role is to care for individuals capable of childbearing through the process of pregnancy, childbirth, and post-partum recovery. To make clear which people midwives are primarily qualified and trained to care for, “women/persons” could be replaced with terms such as “clients” or “patients” throughout the Scope. We also suggested that the statement in the end note that “The primary obligation of kahu pōkai | midwives is to the wāhine hapū/pregnant person and pēpē/baby” may be important enough to warrant inclusion in a clause.

It appears the MPs are just as confused by biology.

In 2022 the Midwifery Council of NZ wanted to revise its midwifery scope of practice guidelines to entirely remove the words “woman” and “mother”. On its website, the Midwifery Council said revising the wording used in the guidelines has been in the making for at least two years in response to “strong signals about the need for a radical transformation of the health system, including midwifery”.

Last year, Chris Lynch Media asked the Council to provide a definition of a woman. The response was:

“There is no specific definition of a woman. All midwives (must) provide midwifery care to anyone who requires that care no matter how they identify.”

The Midwifery Council continues to ignore biology and insult mothers.

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