2025/12/30 by Maeve A. O'Connell · 1 voice
Medicine · Nursing · Social Sciences · #Maternal and Perinatal Health Interventions #Nursing education and management #Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics
paper · pdf · doi:10.18332/ejm/214734
openalex publication_date 2025/12/30 · openalex created_date 2025/12/31 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/14
European Journal of Midwifery 1 Midwifery across Europe has transitioned from apprenticeship-based routes into rigorous university-level education, yet the term training continues to be widely used to describe this preparation.This commentary argues that the persistence of the term misrepresents the scientific, academic, and regulatory complexity of modern midwifery education, reinforces outdated perceptions of the profession, and risks contributing to the scapegoating of midwives amid broader systemic failures.Drawing on recent UK maternity inquiries, ongoing revisions of EU Directive 2005/36/EC, and the expanding scope of midwifery practice across the reproductive life course, this editorial highlights the need for more precise and respectful terminology to strengthen public trust, support professional identity, and inform policy development.Language is an often-overlooked determinant of how health professions are perceived, regulated, and valued.Within midwifery, the term 'training' remains frequently used in public and policy discussions, despite the substantial academic, clinical, and regulatory demands now placed on pre-registration education.While seemingly benign, this terminology carries implications for how competence is judged, how responsibility is allocated, and how midwives are positioned within maternity systems.As Europe revisits key regulatory frameworks and responds to renewed concerns about maternity safety, this is an important moment to critically examine the accuracy and consequences of the language used to describe midwifery education. From apprenticeship to university-based professional formationModern midwifery education in Europe bears little resemblance to its historical apprenticeship roots.Today, student midwives complete extensive programs that include more than 4600 hours of theoretical instruction, simulation, and supervised clinical practice 1 .Curricula incorporate anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, ethics, psychology, human factors, research methods, public health, and increasingly, digital and planetary health.While there are inconsistencies in the nature and content of midwifery programs 2 , these programs are grounded in competency frameworks developed by national regulators and international organizations such as the International Confederation of Midwives 3 .The breadth and depth of these programs extend far beyond the functional or procedural connotations of 'training'.The term inadequately reflects the complexity and intellectual demands of midwifery education, which prepares graduates for autonomous practice, clinical decision-making, and professional accountability.Use of the term risks perpetuating outdated stereotypes of midwives as technical workers rather than highly skilled health professionals. Maternity safety in the UK: Education in a broader systemic contextThe United Kingdom has seen several high-profile maternity inquiries in the past decade, including the Morecambe Bay Investigation 4 , the East Kent Report 5 , the Ockenden Review 6 and the All-Party Parliamentary Group Birth Trauma Inquiry 7 .These investigations have heightened public scrutiny of maternity services and, by extension, midwifery education.However, a consistent finding across these reports is that adverse outcomes are rarely the result of deficiencies in initial education.Instead, the inquiries highlight systemic factors such as chronic workforce shortages, limited supervision capacity, organizational culture challenges, communication failures, and inadequate governance [8][9][10] .The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists 11 has also emphasized the role of burnout and staffing pressures in compromising safety.