Midwives Scotland Act, 100 years on: How do we build our future?

I have just returned from professional visits to Bulgaria, India and Brazil, all countries that have lost much of their midwifery profession and are working hard to reinstate autonomous midwifery. Through this lens, I was truly thankful to celebrate the centenary of the Midwives (Scotland) Act 1915 on two occasions, with the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) at St Giles' Cathedral and the Edinburgh City Chambers and with the Scottish Government.

At the Mansfield Traquair celebration in December, the Chief Midwifery Advisor for the Scottish Government, Ann Holmes, gave an introduction in which she described the importance of the Midwives (Scotland) Act as a foundation to modern midwifery and the developments taking place. I was delighted to be asked to respond to Ann, because my life in midwifery started in Scotland and it is a country I still love. The following is a summary of what I said.

Midwives are there at the start of life and, particularly when part of an effective maternity service, not only save lives and support health and wellbeing, but add to the quality of the start of life for the baby, and the life of the newly formed family.