About this episode

Mel shares insights from the 2026 International Confederation of Midwives Conference, discussing challenges and solutions in maternity care.

Mel shares her key learnings from the 2026 International Confederation of Midwives Conference in Portugal, exploring the major global challenges facing maternity care, including the over-medicalisation of childbirth, midwifery workforce shortages, and the loss of skills that support physiological birth. She also highlights the solutions already making a difference and how midwives and birth workers can help improve outcomes for women and babies.

People in this episode

Host: Dr Melanie Jackson

Topics covered

• maternity care
• midwifery
• childbirth
• healthcare challenges
• physiological birth
• workforce shortages

Keywords

• maternity care
• midwifery
• childbirth
• over-medicalisation
• physiological birth
• healthcare solutions
• workforce shortages

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: International Confederation of Midwives

Places: Portugal

More episodes of The Great Birth Rebellion

• Episode 212 - It’s Not ‘False’ Labour, It’s Prodromal Labour · July 19, 2026 · 1h 36m
• Episode 211 - Manage your labour pain with sterile water injections and hypnobirthing · July 12, 2026 · 55 min
• Episode 209 - The 5 BIG induction studies · June 28, 2026 · 1h 17m
• Episode 208 - Beyond 40 weeks pregnant · June 21, 2026 · 60 min
• Episode 207 - The First 2 Weeks Postpartum (part 2) · June 14, 2026 · 1h 1m

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