International Confederation of Midwives’
Model Curriculum Outlines forProfessional Midwifery Education

ICM Resource Packet #3
Key Resources Available for Midwifery Education
Introduction
The 21st century has brought an abundance of information to the global community via the World
Wide Web. Access to such information is growing, whether through computers or cell phones.
However, ICM recognizes that there are still areas of the world where internet access is limited or
non-existent at the present time. This resource packet depends primarily on internet access with theintent to work with education programmes throughout the world to gain access. One paper copy ofeach of the core ICM documents is included in this packet. If more paper copies of these important
ICM learning resources are needed, they will be compiled by the ICM Education Standing Committee
and provided by request through the ICM headquarters for a nominal charge. Some of the books andarticles suggested may also have a web interface, indicated by a ‘doi’ number.

The ICM Education Standing Committee (ESC) is the primary repository or source of current
information on midwifery education and the new Global Standards for Midwifery Education (2010)
and the updated Essential Competencies for Basic Midwifery Practice (2010). In 2008 following the
Glasgow Triennial Congress, the ESC created a midwifery education listserve.
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/midwifery-reprohealtheducation.html The aim of this listserve is tocreate an international forum for discussion on midwifery, reproductive and women’s healtheducation. The listserve provides an electronic place to facilitate information sharing (e.g.,workshops, seminars, conferences and new issues in education) and to promote collaboration andnetworking for all people working in midwifery and reproductive health education. To join the list, go
to the web page above fill in the needed information.

© ICM June 20121

The ICM Education Standing Committee is also gathering midwifery education resources that willsoon be posted on the ICM website at www.internationalmidwives.org.

There are some places that midwifery educators in low resource countries may wish to investigate forthe purchase of selected midwifery texts or other teaching materials. TALC-Teaching Aids at Low
Cost at www.talcuk.org offers a range of midwifery texts in English, Spanish and French, along withbooks on anatomy, epidemiology, tropical diseases, and other science foundations of midwifery
practice and teaching aids.

Web-based Resources

International Confederation of Midwives (ICM)
www.internationalmidwives.org Search ‘core documents’
ICM Definition of the Midwife (2011)
ICM Philosophy and Model of Care (2008)
ICM International Code of Ethics for Midwives (2008)
ICM Essential Competencies for Basic Midwifery Practice (2010)
ICM Global Standards for Midwifery Education (2010): Companion guidelines
ICM Global Standards for Midwifery Regulation (2011)
ICM Glossary of Terms – June 2011
Position statements relating to midwifery scope of practice, education, regulation

World Health Organization (WHO)Visit the WHO website at www.who.int

Search under “Health Topics” and click on topics such as‘midwifery’ to see what is being done by WHO. Then click on “Programmes and Projects‘, thenMaternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and then ‘document centre’ followed by ‘midwifery’to find the WHO Strengthening Midwifery Toolkit (2011), along with previous documents such as the
WHO/ICM Midwifery modules and the Global Standards for the initial education of professional© ICM June 20122

nurses and midwives (2009).
Returning to “Health topics” you can click on ‘Pregnancy’ where you can locate Making Pregnancy
Safer documents from the ‘document centre’ listing on left side of screen. Clicking on “Programmes
and Projects” will bring up access to the Reproductive Health Library (RHL) with a variety of online
resources for care during the reproductive years, including childbirth. You can also locate the WHO
reproductive health competencies.

WHO has also published guidelines for Basic and Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric Care, andmore recently added Neonatal care (BEmONC). Guidelines for prevention and management of
postpartum haemorrhage and pre-eclampsia/eclampsia are also available online.

Midwifery educators in low resource countries with WHO offices can visit these offices to obtain such
resources. WHO country offices may also provide grants to education programmes to purchaseteaching materials, including texts and plastic or cloth models.
Partnership for Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health (PMNCH)

WHO is the host of the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (PMNCH), a global
advocacy group for improving the health of women, newborns and children, especially in resource
poor nations. The website at www.who.int/pmnch/en includes a variety of information on partner
activities. Visit the PMNCH knowledge portal that includes Knowledge Summaries that synthesize thescientific evidence in short, user-friendly format to inform MNC policy and practice. Of special interest
to midwifery education is Knowledge Summary #14: Save Lives: Invest in Midwives at
http://portal.pmnch.org/knowledge-summaries/ks14
United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef)

Unicef is an international organization dedicated to the health and well-being of children from birththrough adolescence. As noted on their website, About UNICEF: Who are we, “UNICEF is the driving
force that helps build a world where the rights of every child are realized. We have the global© ICM June 20123

authority to influence decision-makers, and the variety of partners at grassroots level t turn the mostinnovative ideas into reality.” www.unicef.org
Unicef recognizes the importance of healthy pregnancies contributing to healthy babies, andtherefore is interested in quality midwifery care.

Unicef offices in low resource countries can provide resources at country level on breastfeeding andimmunization programmes, among others. When visiting the website, go to “Focus areas” and clickon ‘Mothers & Babies’ or other areas such as ‘Nutrition’.
United Nations Fund for Population Advancement (UNFPA)UNFPA is an international organization dedicated to reproductive health, women’s rights, andreduction of maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality. It works in partnership with manyagencies, including the International Confederation of Midwives. The website includes information on
many related topics. To find the specific information related to midwives, begin on the home page atwww.unfpa.org and then click on Reproductive Health along left side of screen, then click on Safe
Motherhood, followed by clicking on Midwives. This site includes reports, updated resource material,
and videos exploring the need for and roles of midwives in the world.

Midwifery educators in low resource countries can visit the UNFPA country office to obtain many of
the resources found on the website.

United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

This is the U.S. foreign aid agency with interest in a variety of health topics, Visit the website atwww.usaid.gov and clip on Our Work, then Health, then Maternal Child, then Maternal Health to view
some of resources and activities sponsored by this agency. One of their newest projects is Helping
Babies Breathe (HBB).

USAID partnered with IntraHealth International in 2007 to publish the following manual:© ICM June 20124

IntraHealth International, USAID. (2007). Learning for performance: A guide and toolkit for healthworker training and education programs. Washington, DC: The Capacity Project.
www.capacityproject.org under Publications and Resources click tools & resources for HRH
practitioner. You will find the manual in English, French and Spanish.

USAID Maternal and Child Health Integrated Program (MCHIP)MCHIP, funded through USAID, provides a website at www.mchip.net that has many electronic
references for care during childbearing and family planning as well as health professional education.
Click on “Tools & Resources” and then look under Topics/subtypes. Look under ‘Browse related links’
to explore the various partnerships they are involved in that focus on maternal and newborn health.
Clicking on any one of these related links takes you directly to that website where further resources
are located.

K4Health (Knowledge for Health)www.k4health.org After exploring the home page for the variety of resources this site offers, click on“etoolkits’ and “elearning” to locate a variety of learning and teaching resources related tochildbearing and reproductive health. For example, the postpartum haemorrhage toolkit has a video
demonstrating active management of the third stage of labour (AMTSL).

Under www.k4health.org/toolkits/pse click on the Pre-service Education Program Roadmap and you
will find the seven (7) steps for designing, implementing , monitoring and evaluating a pre-service
education program focused on health workers needed to provide maternal and newborn health care.
This site also has an extensive electronic library of resources.
Jhpiego, an affiliate of Johns Hopkins University
Jhpiego has a long history of producing health-oriented training materials, including the
preparation of health professionals. Peruse the website as www.jhpiego.org and follow link toTraining Materials found under Resources.

© ICM June 20125

Review of Midwifery Curricula Online
There are many pre-service midwifery education programmes throughout the world that use a
website to inform potential candidates and regulatory bodies of what they include in their midwifery
curriculum, including a description of the content of the courses. Examples include:

Department of Midwifery at Bastyr University in Seattle, Washington that offers a 3-year directentry midwifery programme. Http://www.seattlemidwifery.org/midwifery-education/curriculumoverview
University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing master’s programme in midwifery post-nursing at:
http://www.nursing.upenn.edu/academic_programs/grad/masters/program_detail.asp?prid=10

Suggested Books & Articles
Resources for Adult Learning
1. Brookfield SD & Holst JD. Radicalizing learning: Adult education for a just world. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2011. Chapter 2: Understanding adult learning, pp. 2 – 42. This
chapter is good overview of the ways adults learn in contemporary societies. They include
transformative learning, self-directed learning, and critical reflection.
2. Knowles MS, Holton EF, Swanson RA. The adult learner 6th edition. Boston: Elsevier,2005.
3. Paul R. Critical thinking, moral integrity, and citizenship: Teaching for the intellectual
virtues, 1993. http://www.criticalthinking.org/resources/articles/ct-moral-integrity.shtml
4. Paul R, Elder L. The miniature guide to critical thinking concepts and tools. The Foundation
for Critical Thinking www.criticalthinking.org
5. Pritchard A. Ways of learning: Learning theories and learning styles in the classroom, 2nd
Ed. London: Routledge, 2009.
6. Scheffer BK, Rubenfeld MG, A consensus statement on critical thinking in nursing. Journalof Nursing Education 39L 2000, pp. 352-359.
7. Thompson JE, Kershbaumer RM, Krisman-Scott MA. Educating advanced practice nurses
and midwives. New York: Springer Publishing Company, 2001. Chapter 4: Educational
philosophy and adult learning theories, pp. 47-56.

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8. Murphy C, Viadro C. Applying the Learning for Performance approach. Legacy Series 5:
The Capacity Project, September 2009. PDF file can be downloaded fromwww.capacityproject.org under Publications and Resources. The full manual can also be
downloaded from this site.

Resources for midwifery education (many texts available from TALC: www.talcuk.org)
1. Fraser DM & Cooper MA. Myles textbook for midwives 15th edition. London: Churchill
Livingstone, 2009.
2. Fraser DM, Cooper MA, Nolte AGW. Myles textbook for midwives African edition 2nd
Edition. London: Elsevier, 2010.
3. Klein S, Miller S, Thomson F. A book for midwives. UK: Macmillan, 2007.
4. Johnson R & Taylor W. Skills for midwifery practice 3rd Edition. London: Churchill
Livingstone, 2010.
5. Klein S, Miller S, Thomson F. Un libro para parteras: Atención del embarazo, el parto y lasalud de la mujer. Hesperian Foundation, 2007.
6. Varney H, Kriebs JM, Gegor CL. Varney’s midwifery 4th edition.Boston: Jones and Bartlett
Publishers, 2004.
7. Varney H, Kriebs JM, Gegor CL.Parteria professional de Varney 4th edicion. Washington,
DC: Organizacion Panamericana de la Salud, 2006.
8. Tiran D. Bailliere’s midwives’dictionary 11th edition. Blilliere Tindall, 2008.
9. Hanratty KP. Obstetrics illustrated 7th edition. London: Churchill Livingstone, 2010.

Resources for faculty development
1. See Resource packet #4 for an overview.
2. Benner P. From novice to expert: Excellence and power in clinical nursing practice. Menlo
Park: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1984.
3. Billings DM, Halstead JA. Teaching in nursing: A guide for faculty 3rd Ed. St. Louis, MO:
Saunders, 2009.
4. Bloom B. Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy. Retrieved from web on April 2, 2012 fromhttp://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Bloom%27s_Taxonomy
5. Brookfield SD. Becoming a critically reflective teacher. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1995.
Chapters 1-3: What it means to be a critically reflective teacher, Becoming criticallyreflective: A process of learning and change, and Learning to know ourselves: The value of
autobiography, pp. 1-70.
6. Innovative Learning. Learning theories. Retrieved 3-30-2010 from:http://www.innovativelearning.com/teaching/learning_theories.html© ICM June 20127

7. Parker PJ. The courage to teach. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1998. Chapter 1: The heartof a teacher: identity and integrity in teaching, pp. 9-33.
8. Browse websites above for teaching strategies, especially K4Health, MCHIP, WHO
Midwifery Toolkit (2011). May also find websites that focus on teaching healthprofessionals, such as the Teaching and Learning Institute at http://www2.hud.ac.uk/tali/
about.php
Examples of references that support teaching with summary of content/evidence
1. Andrews M, Brewer M, Buchan T. Denne A, Hammond J, Hardy G, Jacobs L, Mckenzie L,
West S. Implementation and sustainability of the nursing and midwifery standards formentoring in the UK. Nurse Education in Practice: 10, 251-255, 2010.
This article highlights the importance of the role of mentor/preceptor and discusses some of
the challenges faced by mentors/facilitators in their inter-professional roles. It identifies
areas in which mentors/preceptors can be supported in the development of their didactic
skills and assessment skills. Preceptors have very little inter-professional recognition. It
suggests the development of standards for mentoring of students within the health care
professions.
2. Bluff R, Holloway I. The efficacy of midwifery role models. Midwifery 24: 301-309, 2005.
This qualitative, grounded theory approach studied the influence of midwifery role models
on roles that students subsequently adapt. Students learn to adapt to changing culture byadapting roles accordingly. Students emulate the midwives with whom they work. Midwives
functioning as mentors need to pay attention to their own role whilst working with students.
3. Furber C, Hickie J, Lee K, McLaughlin A, Boggis C, Sutton A, Cooke S, Wakefield A.
Interprofessional education in a midwifery curriculum: The Learning though the Explorationof the Professional Task Project (LEAPT). Midwifery: 20, 358-366. 2004.
Student midwives participated in problem-based learning scenario’s together with students
of medicine and nursing. This was with the aim of fostering collaborative working andpromoting and enriching learning experiences of students. Students experienced thismethod as a ‘safe’ way of developing their future roles. It helped students in improving
attitudes to collaborative working and stimulated both learning and reflection.
4. Holland K, Lauder W. A review of evidence for the practice learning environment:
Enhancing the context for nursing and midwifery care in Scotland. Nurse Education in
Practice 12: 60-64, 2012.
Delivery of care is set against the changing context of social and political change. Midwifery
training needs must account for this in terms of practice learning environment and strategic
partners in further and higher education. World health Midwives: an integrated approach to© ICM June 20128

health care delivery. Education in practice is at the centre of developing both the current
and the future workforce.
‘communities of learning’: this term extends to both novice midwives, trained midwives whowish to develop further, midwifery teachers etc.
5. Walsh D. In Downe S, Byrom S, Simpson L. (ed). Essential midwifery practice: Leadership,
expertise and collaborative working. Wiley-Blackwell. 2011.
Denis Walsh points out that the attitudes and beliefs of midwives around issues in
midwifery care impact on midwives’ practice. It is important for midwives to be aware of thisin their dealings with others (students, women etc).

Resources for teaching aids
1. Country midwifery and/or nursing associations may have teaching aids on their websites orin their local offices. Often members of the association will know where to purchaseteaching models, audio-visual aids, or textbooks.
2. Websites such as Birth International at www.birthinternational.com in Australia or Childbirth
Graphics at www.childbirthgraphics.com offer products that midwifery teachers may finduseful and midwifery students may find useful in teaching childbirth education classes.
3. UNFPA Zimbabwe gifted teaching resources and models to 18 midwifery schools in the
country. Other international agencies and midwifery associations in high resource countries
also make such gifts, often corresponding to May 5th International Day of the Midwife.
4. Laerdal company has low-cost equipment for newborn care and resuscitation.
5. Many teaching aids can be constructed by individual teachers, included models, flipcharts,and posters. Creativity is encouraged to have low cost teaching aids. Examples of teachingaids that are helpful in the practical laboratory for skills development include: A knitted uterus that includes a 2-inch cuff to illustrate cervix. Can place rubber ballor rubber doll inside to illustrate effacement and dilation.
 A model of a female pelvis with rubber or cloth doll to illustrate anatomical
landmarks and mechanisms of labour with vertex or breech presentation
 4x4 inch foam rubber to practice episiotomy or laceration repair (can also usechicken breast)© ICM June 20129 Needle holders, pick-up forceps, cord clamps, scissors (straight & curved) that are
no longer useful (being discarded) in institutional settings
 Discarded suture packets from operating room that were no longer sterile
 IUD models for practicing insertion and removal (often provided by makers of IUD) Cloth baby doll with placenta and cord (snap on cord to baby’s navel) Lactating breast model (cloth) to demonstrate anatomy or proper placement of
infant on nipple
 Pelvic model to practice speculum insertion Pinard stethoscopes to listen to fetal heart rate and rhythm
Examples of teaching aids that are helpful in learning theory include (can be drawn):
 Poster illustrating menstrual cycle
 Poster illustrating fetal growth and development by weeks’ gestation within female
torso so that anatomical changes in pregnant woman are visible
 Flipchart on breastfeeding (how to) Poster illustrating breast self-examination
 Gestational wheel (usually given free by company that makes products for pregnant
women Poster illustrating female and male anatomy related to reproduction© ICM June 201210