A message from our President, Dr Louise Kavanagh McBride

This month, we celebrated International Day of the Midwife and International Nurses Day.

These days offer a great opportunity to collectively honour the professions that stand at the heart of healthcare. Nursing and midwifery are more than professions; they are fundamental to the strength and resilience of our entire healthcare system and our society.

Last month, we were delighted to be part of a Collaborative Storytelling Event with the Office of Nursing and Midwifery Services Director (ONMSD), the office of the Chief Nursing Officer at the Department of Health ahead of International Day of the Midwife and International Nurses Day. 

Nurses and midwives from across a wide range of divisions shared their own unique stories as well as two service users, Dr Geralyn Hynes and Ashley Murphy who shared their experience from a patient’s perspective. 

Ashley shared her emotional story about her pregnancy and the birth of her first child, baby Alfie who made an early but joyful arrival at 34 weeks. We were so touched by her story that we wanted to share her speech with you as it really highlights the impact you make to those you care for. In her own words, “To all the midwives out there - you are incredible”.

Martina Hughes, Assistant Director of Nursing, Nurse Practice Development Unit at Mercy University Hospital, Cork reflects on the Code in practice.

As we continue our Student Ambassador series, we are proud to share Andrea Vazquez Domenech’s story. She is originally from Spain and is a first-year midwifery student at the University of Galway.

She is also a mature student and her journey highlights that if you are passionate about a profession, anything is possible.

She describes the trust that is placed in midwives and highlights that midwifery is not just about medical care, it’s about presence, compassion and connection.

We would encourage everyone, especially our midwifery colleagues to read her story.