Raising midwifery education to university level in Türkiye ensures the training of professional midwives and the expansion of the services they offer. Experts state that midwifery is a branch of science centered on human beings, emphasizing that a candidate wishing to study in the midwifery department should value people, communicate effectively, and be able to resolve crises. Experts state that midwives can work in both public and private institutions and point out that master's and doctoral programs provide an advantageous position in the profession.
What qualities should midwives possess?
Prof. Dr. Güler Cimete, Head of the Midwifery Department at Üsküdar University Faculty of Health Sciences, discussed the importance of the midwifery profession in today's conditions, the advantages of studying in the department, and career opportunities.
Midwifery ranks among the top health professions
Prof. Dr. Güler Cimete pointed out that midwifery is one of the oldest professions dealing with reproductive health, stating, “Therefore, we can say that women of childbearing age, as well as spouses, children, families, and the community, constitute the primary service target group of the midwifery profession. The main service areas of midwives primarily include maternal, paternal, infant, and child health services, as well as family planning services during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. Due to the extensive service target group, it ranks among the top health professions numerically in our country, and midwives can work in both public institutions and many private healthcare organizations.”
They make significant contributions to public health
Cimete emphasized that raising midwifery education to university level in our country has significantly contributed to the training of professional midwives, the expansion of their service content, and the improvement of their quality. “Midwifery is a profession that approaches individuals with a holistic perspective. Therefore, during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period, they provide supportive care to women and their families, not only physically but also emotionally, socially, and spiritually. Midwives' education and counseling services, especially for family planning, pregnancy, labor, the puerperium, and newborn-infant-child care, are very comprehensive and make significant contributions to public health.”
Midwives should value people, be able to resolve crises
Prof. Dr. Güler Cimete stated that midwifery is a branch of science centered on human beings, saying, “It would be beneficial for a candidate wishing to study in the midwifery department to be interested in health-related issues and enjoy communicating with people. During midwifery education, students develop qualities such as valuing people, effective communication, critical thinking, problem-solving, working within a multidisciplinary team, empathy, crisis resolution, being engaged and sensitive, and being egalitarian and just.”
Master's and doctoral degrees provide an advantage for midwives
Prof. Dr. Güler Cimete continued by stating that since midwives primarily serve couples who wish to have children, pregnant women, women who have given birth, and parents with infants and children, they predominantly work with a healthy and happy population:
“As healthcare professionals who monitor a baby's development from the womb, witness its birth, are the first to touch the new life, and provide its care, midwives constitute the most advantageous group within health disciplines in terms of job satisfaction. In recent years, specialist and doctoral midwives have been trained through Master's and Doctoral programs opened in many universities across our country. This allows them to work as specialist or doctoral midwives in healthcare institutions and as academics in university midwifery departments. Since the number of specialist and doctoral midwives in our country is very low, we can say that midwives with such postgraduate education are very valuable in their work environments. However, the midwifery profession is traditionally seen as a female profession, and men's choice to study in this department is restricted in many universities. Yet, midwifery is one of the professions where gender discrimination should not be made.”
Here are the midwives' fields of work…
Cimete noted that midwives provide pregnancy education and monitoring, childbirth preparation and infant care training, assistance during childbirth, postpartum mother and newborn care, support for adaptation to maternal and paternal roles, immunization of children aged 0-6, monitoring their growth and development, early diagnosis and resolution of problems, and family planning services. “This allows them to work as midwives in pregnancy monitoring polyclinics, high-risk pregnancy, labor and postpartum care, gynecology, and healthy newborn clinics of public and private hospitals, infertility units, family planning centers, Family Health Centers and Community Health Centers, and health insurance companies. They also have the opportunity to work as academics in the Midwifery Departments of Universities' Health Vocational Schools and Faculties of Health Sciences. Furthermore, midwives are among the rare professions that have the right to work independently and open a private practice. Midwives working independently can provide pregnancy education and monitoring, accompany births, and continue mother-baby-family care in the postpartum period.”
They receive laboratory training with simulated models
Prof. Dr. Güler Cimete stated that in the Midwifery Department of Üsküdar University, students receive intensive training with theoretical knowledge as well as simulated models in laboratories. “In their clinical training, which starts from the second year, students go for clinical practice in public hospitals where they can observe as many cases as possible. Final year students are offered an intensive clinical practice opportunity through an internship program, where theoretical lessons are reinforced. This enables students to enter professional life as midwives. Additionally, students who wish to gain international education experience or work abroad in the future are provided with opportunities through both Erasmus and blue diploma options.”