Introduction

The Council of Delegates to the 2008 meeting in Glasgow, Scotland, voted to update existing and develop new core documents for the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM). These directions for work to be accomplished during 2008-2011 Triennium constituted what has become known as the “Three Pillars” of ICM’s global efforts to strengthen midwifery worldwide in order to provide high quality, evidence-based health services for women, newborn, and childbearing families. ICM’s pillars include education based on updated core competencies, regulation, and strong Member Associations. These pillars are interdependent and therefore presented on this website as a complete package of information for midwives, policy makers, and governments.

The work on the ICM ‘pillars’ was carried out by expert Task Forces that focused on:
1. Updating and expanding the 2002 Essential Competencies for Basic Midwifery Practice; and affirming the evidence base
2. Developing Global Standards for Midwifery Education along with Companion Guidelines
3. Developing Global Standards for Midwifery Regulation;
4. Strengthening Midwifery Associations.

An important corollary to the work of the Task Forces was the development and agreement of a Glossary of Key Terms to be used in all ICM documents now and in the future.

This section of the website links each of the above documents for ease in understanding how they inter-relate and support one another.  It is important to note that the Education standards include 1) Preface and Standards, 2) Glossary of Terms, and 3) Companion Guidelines.  All three are intended to be used together.

The Technical Reports and minutes of meetings for the ICM competencies and standards development are available at ICM headquarters for further information on how each of these core documents were developed. 
Please contact us for more information.

Please select from the links below to access the standards and competencies in your language (links open in new window): 

English:

Glossary of Terms

Essential Competencies for Basic Midwifery Practice

Global Standards for Midwifery Education

Global Standards for Midwifery Education - Companion Guidelines

Glossary of Terms Used in ICM Global Standards for Midwifery Education

Global Standards for Midwifery Regulation

Member Association Capacity Assessment Tool (MACAT)

Member Association Capacity Assessment Tool (MACAT) - Guidelines for Use



Français : Normes globales, compétences essentielles, et outils de l’ICM

Español: Normas globales, competencias esenciales y herramientas de la ICM