June 01, 2011
The five subthemes are : Globalisation, Listening to Women and their Partners, The Continuum of Care, Strengthening Midwives and Midwifery Practice, and Culture, Society and Traditions.
Globalization
This sub-theme covers opportunities for midwives from all over the world to support and encourage one another through collaboration and the sharing of experiences, both similar and different. This sub-theme will highlight human resource issues and migration of midwives, developing sustainable women and child health care programmes particularly in middle and low income settings, and explore the impact of HIV/AIDS on midwifery services.
Listening to women and their partners
This sub-theme focuses on the voices of women and their partners in reproductive health and learning from these perspectives and expectations. It includes issues of communication, emotional support and the role of support/network groups in maternity care. It also incorporates the critical issue of human rights – protecting the wellbeing of vulnerable children, young people and women particularly in relation to gender based violence and their legal status.
Continuum of Care
This sub-theme is concerned with enhancing the provision of family-focused care. It follows the reproductive health continuum covering midwifery practice from pre-conception, through birth to infancy, across all reproductive age ranges including the adolescent, in various patterns of family organisation, and across all settings from home to critical care. It will also highlight the need for transformation of health systems in relation to women, children and neonates so that the challenges to maternal and neonatal health, morbidity and mortality are addressed.
Strengthening Midwives and Midwifery
This sub-theme addresses issues specific to enabling midwives so that they can develop strength in their professional identity and practice. This will include formal and non-formal education, innovation and application of midwifery research, effective leadership and the development of enabling environments, the place of midwives in the structure and governance of the profession within health systems, financing of midwifery provision, and ethical challenges facing midwives as a result of technological advances and changing health profiles.
Culture, Society and Tradition
‘Ubuntu’ is a southern African philosophy which expresses itself as ‘we are / become who we are through other people’. In recognising our common humanity and the richness of our diversity this sub-theme will highlight the importance of societal and indigenous knowledge impacting in care of childbearing families cultural beliefs and customs (both traditional and western) and how they impact positively and/or negatively on maternity care and gender issues. It also covers the role of non-midwives in the provision of maternity care.
Languages
The ICM has 3 official languages - English, French and Spanish - and presenters have been invited to indicate in which language they would like to present. All sessions in Halls 5 & 6 will have simultaneous translation throughout the congress. Some of these sessions will be presented in French and Spanish. Please refer to the programme for information about the sessions, so that you make sure to pick up a translation unit before entering the venue, should you require this translation facility.
Presentation types
There will be various types of presentations during the congress, listed below. Please see link for full descriptions:
http://www.midwives2011.org/Congress/Programme.aspx
- Keynote addresses
- Concurrent sessions
- Workshops
- Symposiums
- Poster presentations