Midwives are the experts in normal pregnancy, birth and newborn care. Self Employed Community Midwives work in a distinct way. They provide continuity of care through the childbearing experience to women who engage their services. They are self employed in this role and provide a 24 hour/365 days a year midwifery service. In an ideal situation, midwifery partnerships are recommended, but due to the small number of midwives and logistics this is not always possible. SECMs endeavour to have a second midwife in attendance, as mandated within their MOU/agreement, for all planned home births.
All midwives within the CMA have a contract with the HSE via a Memorandum of Understanding and Agreement which outlines the service they provide, eligibility criteria, ongoing assessment and the payment schedule. All our midwives complete the required mandatory education and training requirements, meet with their HSE managers biannually and partake in a professional peer review and reflection process which recognises the philosophy, practice and community based environment within which we work. Additionally, our annual statistics are forwarded to the National Perinatal Epidemiology Centre (NPEC) and we offer the opportunity for client feedback.