MNMC Midwife cheat sheet

ICM Essential Competencies are organised into four domains: general, pre-pregnancy and antenatal, labour and birth, and ongoing care of women and newborns.

ICM Global Standards for Midwifery Education cover programme design, governance, faculty, students, curriculum, resources, and quality assurance.

Minimum entry to midwifery practice requires completion of a formally recognised, competency-based programme; direct-entry and post-nursing routes both require the full midwifery curriculum.

Clinical practice hours must include supervised experience across the full continuum of care: antenatal, intrapartum, postnatal, newborn, and family planning.

A designated clinical preceptor or clinical instructor with midwifery qualification supervises students in birth settings; ratio limits protect learning and safety.

Competency assessment combines direct observation, simulated skills, reflective portfolios, and written examination rather than a single test.

Faculty must hold a midwifery qualification and a teaching qualification, and engage in continuing professional development.

Programme accreditation is cyclical and outcome-based: self-study, external peer review, site visit, decision, and monitoring of remediation.

Education standards require a stated admission, progression, and appeals policy, and student support including academic and pastoral services.

The midwife is the accountable lead for normal pregnancy, labour, birth, and the early postnatal period, and works in partnership with the woman.

Informed consent is an ongoing process of providing information, checking understanding, and respecting the woman's decision, including refusal.

Scope of practice is defined by legislation, registration, and competence; the midwife refers or escalates when care falls outside that scope.

Referral pathways must be timely and documented; the midwife retains responsibility for the woman until handover is completed.

Documentation must be contemporaneous, legible, signed, dated, and factual, recording decisions, discussions, and deviations from the care plan.

Confidentiality is a professional duty; disclosure without consent is limited to legal requirement, serious public health risk, or safeguarding.

Medication safety requires correct patient, drug, dose, route, time, and documentation, with checking of allergies and interactions.

Continuing professional development is a registration requirement, with a set number of hours and reflective records per cycle.

Emergency preparedness includes drills for postpartum haemorrhage, shoulder dystocia, cord prolapse, and neonatal resuscitation.

Core ethical principles: beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy, justice, and confidentiality.

Respect for autonomy means supporting the woman's informed choice even when it differs from professional recommendation.

Conscientious objection may permit withdrawal from a procedure, but the midwife must not abandon the woman and must ensure safe referral.

Professional boundaries prohibit dual relationships, financial exploitation, and personal involvement that compromises care.

Mandatory reporting duties include suspected abuse or neglect of a child or vulnerable adult, and unsafe practice by a colleague.

Discrimination on grounds of race, ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status is prohibited.

Social media rules: no identifiable patient information, no clinical photographs without consent, and no disparaging comments about patients or colleagues.

Conflict of interest must be declared; gifts or benefits that may influence care decisions are refused or reported.

Fitness-to-practise processes address impairment, misconduct, and incompetence; the regulator may impose conditions, suspension, or removal.

Respectful maternity care means dignity, privacy, freedom from mistreatment, and effective communication throughout care.

Evidence-based practice integrates best available research, clinical expertise, and the woman's values and preferences.

Quality improvement uses the plan-do-study-act cycle, audit against standards, and feedback of results to the care team.

Clinical audit measures actual practice against an agreed standard, then implements change and re-audits to close the loop.

Key outcome indicators include maternal mortality ratio, severe maternal morbidity, stillbirth rate, neonatal mortality, and caesarean section rate.

Patient safety tools include incident reporting, root cause analysis, surgical safety checklists, and handover using structured formats.

Continuity-of-care models with a known midwife are associated with fewer interventions and higher satisfaction.

Family-centred care engages partners and family per the woman's wishes, and supports breastfeeding, bonding, and newborn care.

Health promotion includes screening, immunisation, family planning counselling, and recognition of perinatal mental health conditions.