Abstract
The International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) defined three pillars through which to strengthen midwifery worldwide. The present paper aims to describe how these three pillars—education, regulation and association—have progressed in Brazil. Following a brief overview of midwifery in Brazil and of the background behind the creation of the midwifery program at the University of São Paulo, Brazil, the characteristics of midwifery training are described in detail, as well as the peculiarities of the regulations governing the profession of midwifery and the relevance of social movements and associations in the process of the inclusion of midwives into the labour market, in achieving social visibility and fostering consolidation of the profession in the country. Next, the reports of two midwives regarding their first years of work in different settings are presented as a means of characterizing maternal and perinatal healthcare in Brazil. In conclusion, midwifery training has a visionary nature that seeks to transform the current obstetric care model in Brazilian society both quantitatively and qualitatively.
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Notes
- 1.
Professor Dulce Maria Rosa Gualda, PhD, is a midwife who graduated in 1969 from the direct-entry midwifery course at the University of São Paulo. That course was terminated in 1971.
- 2.
Created in 1934, the University of São Paulo is one of the most important institutes of higher learning and research in Brazil. It rates high in the rankings created to measure the quality of universities worldwide. The university offers undergraduate courses in all fields. All courses are free of charge, lasting from 4 to 6 years. Admission to the university is achieved through highly challenging entry exams. The University of São Paulo is characterized by its inextricable relationship between teaching, extension and research in all undergraduate courses.
- 3.
Regular midwifery training programmes began in Brazil in 1832, first in the state of Rio de Janeiro and then in the states of Bahia, Rio Grande do Sul, São Paulo and Pará. In 1971, the last such course still in existence, that at the University of São Paulo, was closed and incorporated into the nursing school under the pretext of the university reform that took place in the country at that time.
- 4.
Undergraduate midwifery program resulting in a bachelor’s degree.
- 5.
Field training or practical settings consist of healthcare institutes used for practical teaching and for supervised internship.
- 6.
Common, and often promoted by public entities, scientific societies, professional associations and healthcare institutes in scientific events of varying descriptions.
- 7.
In Brazil, there is no law prohibiting home birth, and Brazilian women have the right to choose where they will deliver their child.
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Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge the invaluable testimonial contributions of the midwives Raphael Marques de Almeida Rosa da Cruz, e-mail: raphaelcruz@hotmail.com, and Thalita Vital Botelho, e-mail: tatavital@hotmail.com.
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Narchi, N.Z., Campos, E.A., Gualda, D.M.R. (2019). Midwives in Brazil: Education, Regulation of Practice and Professional Association. In: Gray, M., Kitson-Reynolds, E., Cummins, A. (eds) Starting Life as a Midwife. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93852-3_3
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