Resources & Guidelines
Access the latest resources, information and guidelines for maternity professionals.
Midwifery Doctoral Thesis Collection
The aim of this collection is to provide a dedicated open-access platform for midwives to showcase their academic work, and to inspire and support midwives who are considering or who are currently undertaking further academic study. Additionally, the collection will provide a source of open access midwifery-generated evidence for everyone to use.
Use the ‘Control F’ search function to search the Collection for keywords or topics of interest.
If you are a midwife, have completed a PhD and would like to include your thesis in this collection, please complete the online form below. If your thesis is not written in the English language, we ask you to translate the title and abstract into English so that it can be searched on the MIC database.
The collection will be updated on a monthly basis.
Maternity Practice
Explore professional standards, guidelines, and reports designed to support maternity professionals in delivering high-quality care.
Calling for a Stronger EU Directive on Midwifery: an Open Letter from European Midwifery Leaders and Stakeholders
On 7 May 2026, more than 200 European midwifery leaders, senior educators, clinical leads and civil society organisations from across the European Union and European Economic Area submitted an Open Letter to the European Commission calling for a stronger and more ambitious revision of Directive 2005/36/EC, which sets the minimum professional qualifications for midwives across Europe. (© International Confederation of Midwives 2026)
Digital Midwifery
There remain vast disparities across nations with the use of electronic health records. Right now, we continue to see a hybrid world. Read an overview of key papers from the four countries within the United Kingdom, detailing key strategic documents, policies and standards which have driven the digital transformation of maternity services. (© Royal College of Midwives 2026)
Fitness to Practise - Midwifery Cases Dashboard
An interactive resource from the Nursing and Midwifery Council, to supplement their annual data and insight publications by providing an overview of mifwifery-related Fitness to Practise concerns. It draws on regulatory data and insight from all four countries of the UK to highlight recurring themes in maternity care.
Source: Nursing and Midwifery Council (2026)
ICM Midwifery Terminology: Reference Guide for Standardised Spanish and French Translations
Following the publication of key global documents on midwifery models of care in English, which ICM collaborated on together with WHO, UNFPA and UNICEF, we recognised the need to streamline how midwifery related concepts and terms are translated and used across different languages and contexts.
The release of the Midwifery Models of Care Position Paper in 2024 and its accompanying Implementation Guide in 2025 highlighted the importance of establishing a common understanding of midwifery-related terminology beyond English. As these publications were translated, it became clear that key terms were being rendered in multiple ways across organisations, and in some cases even within ICM’s own resources, creating inconsistency, reducing clarity, and making it more difficult to locate, align and use related resources across documents, languages and regions.
Because midwifery models of care is not a commonly used concept in many non-English-speaking contexts, particularly in Spanish and French speaking settings, we identified the need for a more coordinated approach to terminology, working in collaboration with WHO and UNFPA. This included addressing variations in how core terms such as midwife, midwifery and models of care were being translated, to ensure greater consistency across languages. (© International Confederation of Midwives 2026)
Measuring and Monitoring Quality of Care to Improve Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health Services
This WHO technical guide focuses primarily on maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health and provides practical guidance on how to select, track and analyse quality of care indicators to guide healthcare improvement. It also outlines key system-level interventions necessary to enable effective measurement, including how to assess and strengthen health information systems to measure and monitor prioritized quality of care indicators, how to assess and improve data quality to strengthen quality improvement results and stakeholder trust, and some approaches to strengthening quality improvement measurement capacity of key actors.
Designed for frontline health workers, program managers, and policymakers, this guide serves as a valuable resource for integrating quality of care measurement into routine health service delivery and data systems. It includes real-world examples from various countries, demonstrating how robust measurement and monitoring can lead to tangible improvements in health services and outcomes. (© Author)
Source: WHO (2025)
Spotlight on Nursing and Midwifery 2025: Workforce
This third edition of Spotlight, the NMCs annual insight report, includes the findings from their first ever annual survey of professionals on their register. It presents the views and experiences of 37,961 nurses, midwives and nursing associates who shared insights into the reality of their practice, including some marked warning signs around burnout, discrimination and patient safety.
Source: Nursing and Midwifery Council (2026)
The Best Start: Five-Year Plan for Maternity and Neonatal Care (Scotland)
The plan, from the Scottish Government, outlines the progress made in fulfilling the recommendations of the Best Start Five-Year Plan published in 2017 (1). Of the 76 recommendations, 55 recommendations have been successfully implemented, 13 were reported as achievable in the relevant timeframe, 10 were reported as achievable with additional support or time, and one was reported as challenging to deliver. The report includes a timeline of implementation and ongoing work as part of national maternal and neonatal services policy.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council: Principles for Advanced Practice
The Nursing and Midwifery Council’s principles for advanced practice aim to bring clarity and consistency to advanced nursing and midwifery practice across the UK. For the public, they will help patients and people who use services to understand the role of an advanced practitioner, including a definition that is clearly understood by members of the public. For professionals, they will help professionals deliver consistent, high quality, safe and effective delivery of care by setting clear expectations for advanced practice nursing and midwifery. For employers, they will help employers to develop and sustain systems in which advanced practice can thrive – for example in workforce, education, support, CPD and governance planning.
We strongly encourage professionals and employers to use the principles to ensure people receive the best possible care. (© The Nursing and Midwifery Council 2025)
The Nursing and Midwifery Council: Professionals Survey
This document reports the findings of a new survey launched by the Nursing and Midwifery Council in March 2025 to better understand the experiences of professionals on the register. It discusses several themes including work satisfaction, bullying and the delivery of care.
Source: The Nursing and Midwifery Council (2026)
Guidelines
Access up-to-date national and international guidelines to support safe, evidence-based care.
Abortion Care
WHO Guidelines: Law and Policy Practice Guide for Quality Abortion Care
Unsafe abortion and restrictive legal environments remain significant contributors to preventable morbidity and mortality, underscoring the need for evidence-based, rights-aligned frameworks to ensure access to quality abortion care. This document presents operational guidance developed to support Member States in reforming, interpreting and implementing laws and policies grounded in international human rights law and principles, in line with the recommendations on abortion care.
The guide outlines a structured, iterative approach to law and policy reform organized into four interconnected phases: understanding the current legal and health context, designing appropriate interventions, implementing reforms, and reviewing outcomes. It examines key considerations such as stakeholder engagement, alignment with human rights standards and the interaction between legal frameworks and health system factors, including common regulatory approaches such as criminalization, gestational limits and third-party authorization. Providing practical, step-by-step considerations and tools, the publication also describes a range of legal and policy instruments and strategies that may be adapted to different national contexts, including incremental reforms, reinterpretation of existing laws and multisectoral coordination. Intended for policymakers, legislators, health system leaders and civil society actors, it supports the development of enabling environments that improve access to safe, acceptable and equitable abortion care. (© World Health Organization 2026)
The FIGO-ICM Joint Statement on Comprehensive Abortion Care
The International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) and the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) affirm that Comprehensive Abortion Care is an essential health service and a core element of Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
Building on previous commitments from both organisation, this joint statement unites the guiding principles, strategic aims, policy requirements, professional standards and service actions required to ensure quality, equitable and rights-based abortion care. This joint statement supports midwives and obstetrician-gynaecologists (OBGYNs) to practice within competency-based scopes, strengthens interprofessional collaboration, and protects women and girls’ autonomy and dignity. (© 2026 FIGO)
Domestic Abuse: Guidance for Maternity Health Professionals
The Department of Health, Public Health Agency and the Health and Social Care Trusts seek to promote a consistent approach to routine enquiry into domestic abuse, providing a trauma-informed, strengths-based response. Every contact with Nurses, Midwives and Health Visitors can provide an opportunity for timely, effective identification and intervention. (© 2026 Public Health Agency)
Neonatal Mortality Governance: A BAPM Framework for Practice
High-quality end-of-life care, and an open and transparent child death review process are of vital importance in providing understanding and closure for both families and staff a well as supporting shared system-wide learning. This framework complements existing national and statutory documents while providing more detailed operational guidance in areas where clinical interpretation is challenging.
Source: British Association of Perinatal Medicine (2026)
WHO Guidelines on the Prevention of Female Genital Mutilation and Clinical Management of Complications
In 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) published the WHO guidelines on the management of health complications from female genital mutilation. That publication’s main purpose was to provide evidence-informed recommendations on managing health complications associated with FGM.
The current revised guideline has an expanded scope, providing up-to-date recommendations on FGM prevention as well as clinical management of complications.
The process of updating and revising this guideline resulted in eight recommendations relating to training and capacity-building of health workers on FGM prevention and care, including access to capacity-building resources; educational interventions targeting women and girls living with or at risk of FGM as well as men and boys in FGM-affected communities; deinfibulation for women with Type III FGM, including the timing of deinfibulation; mental health interventions for women and girls living with FGM and having symptoms of anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); and surgical and non-surgical sexual health interventions.
In addition, three best practice statements are presented on the development and enforcement of laws and policies against FGM, the need for professional codes of conduct for health workers and the importance of counselling and informed consent prior to deinfibulation. Considerations on implementing the recommendations are also discussed. (© World Health Organization 2025)
WHO Guideline on Preventing Early Pregnancy and Poor Reproductive Outcomes Among Adolescents in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
The objectives of this guideline are to provide evidence-based normative guidance on interventions to improve adolescent morbidity and mortality by reducing the chances of early pregnancy and its resulting poor health outcomes.
The specific objectives of the guideline were to: 1. identify effective interventions to prevent early pregnancy by influencing factors such as early marriage, coerced sex, unsafe abortion, access to contraceptives and access to maternal health services by adolescents; and 2. provide an analytical framework for policy-makers and programme managers to use when selecting evidence-based interventions to prevent early pregnancy and negative health outcomes when they occur that are most appropriate for the needs of their countries and context.
The recommendations and best practice statements described in this document aim to enable evidence-based decision-making with respect to preventing early pregnancy and poor reproductive outcomes among adolescents in low- and middle-income country contexts.
This guideline updates and replaces the recommendations in the following previous WHO guideline: WHO guidelines on preventing early pregnancy and poor reproductive outcomes among adolescents in developing countries. (© World Health Organization 2025)
WHO Recommendations on Maternal Health: Guidelines Approved by the WHO Guidelines Review Committee
This document provides a summary of all WHO recommendations on maternal health based on guidelines approved by the WHO Guidelines Review Committee.
The summary includes promotion, prevention and prevention of maternal complications during pregnancy, childbirth and postnatal periods as well as management of maternal complications. Each summary includes the recommendations as well as what is not recommended. The summary is a useful resource for policy makers and programme managers. (© World Health Organization 2025)
Using Nitrous Oxide (Gas and Air) Safely in Maternity Units
Guidance for maternity units on the safe use of nitrous oxide (gas and air) covering levels of exposure, control measures, monitoring exposure and management systems.
Source: Health & Safety Executive (2025)
Resources for Parents
Find trusted information, support tools, and educational resources to empower expectant and new parents throughout their journey.
A Guide to Immunisation up to 13 Months of Age
This report booklet aimed at parents provides information on vaccinations up to one year of age. It provides details of the early vaccines, carried out at 8, 12, and 16 weeks and at one year of age.
Source: NHS (June 2025)
Alcohol and Caring for Your Baby
The Lullaby trust has a resource providing guidance to parents about breastfeeding, sleeping and caring for their babies when alcohol is involved. They advise that a sober adult is always present around babies and young children.
Source: The Lullaby Trust
Baby Feeding Cues
Perinatal Services BC provide a collection of images with baby feeding signs in all three stages: early, mid and late cues.
Source: Perinatal Services BC (2025)
Before, During and After Pregnancy for Autistic Women and Birthing People
Guidance from Tommy’s, the pregnancy and baby charity, for autistic mothers. The web page covers a broad range of topics, from trying to conceive to coping with pregnancy symptoms, midwife appointments, writing a birth plan, and the postnatal support available to you
Birth to Five 2025
This book provides information on becoming a parent, taking care of yourself and your children up to five years old and finding practical help and support.
Source: HSC Public Health Agency (2025)
Hepatitis B: Screening Care in Pregnancy and Protecting Your Baby
Information on Hepatitis B Infection, screening and care in pregnancy, and the vaccine with protects babies born to women with Hepatitis B. (@ Crown copyright)
Source: UK Health Security Agency.
Maternal and Child Nutrition: Nutrition and Weight Management in Pregnancy, and Nutrition in Children up to 5 Years
NB: This guideline updates and replaces: the NICE guideline on maternal and child nutrition (PH11, 2008) the recommendations on weight management during pregnancy from NICE’s guideline on weight management before, during and after pregnancy (PH27, 2010).
This guideline covers nutrition and weight management in pregnancy for anyone who may become pregnant, is planning to become pregnant or is already pregnant, and nutrition in children up to 5 years. Care of babies and children born preterm or with low birth weight is not covered. The guideline does not give detailed advice on what constitutes a healthy diet. (© Author)
Source: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (2025)
Protecting Your Baby: Screening Tests for Infectious Diseases in Pregnancy
The leaflet gives information on the blood tests that are normally offered and recommended at the first antenatal visit. These tests look for possible health problems that could affect the mother’s health and the health of the baby. Only one sample of blood is needed to do all six tests. The tests are done by consent and this leaflet should help pregnant women make their decision. (© Author)
Source: HSC Public Health Agency (2025).
SANDS - Support for Bereaved Families
SANDS, the baby loss charity, has support and resources for anyone impacted by the loss of a baby.
Screening Tests for You and Your Baby
The web page provides information about screening tests offered during and after pregnancy.
Source: NHS England, Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (2025)
Supporting Your Neurodivergent Perinatal Mental Health: a Guide by PANDAS and ND birth
This guide is for anyone medically or self-diagnosed as neurodivergent. It aims to provide help with managing the sensory and executive functioning challenges, communicating your needs, and getting support. (© Author)
Source: PANDAS, ND Birth (2025)
The Motherless Mothers Charity
The Motherless Mothers is a UK charity supporting women who experience pregnancy and early motherhood without the emotional or practical presence of their own mother due to bereavement, estrangement, illness, or other circumstances of maternal absence. The charity prvoides peer support, resources, advocacy, and contributes to emerging research into maternal absence and perinatal mental health.
The Pregnancy Book 2025: Your Complete Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy, Labour and Childbirth and the First Weeks with Your New Baby
This book provides information on many aspects of pregnancy and a list of useful organisations.
Source: HSC Public Health Agency (2025)
The Reading Agency
The Reading Agency is a charity that aims to improve the literacy of people of all ages. It has a Reading Well scheme (also called Books on Prescription) which recommends books chosen by professionals on difficult topics.
Accessiblity & Equality
Discover guidance and resources aimed at promoting inclusive, equitable maternity care for all individuals, regardless of background or circumstance.
Coercion in Maternity Care
This resource presents the results of a survey of nearly 300 participants who shared their experiences of coercion with Birthrights, either directly as a pregnant person, or as a witness to coercive behaviour of colleagues or others within maternal health services. The findings reveal structural racism and discrimination in maternity care, and actions and behaviours opposed to informed choice, bodily autonomy, and trust in care.
Source: Birthrights (2026)
Decolonising Midwifery Practice
Midwifery education and practice are rooted in Euorocentric culture and practices which may not reflect the diversity of women and families being cared for in maternity services. The Royal College of Midwives has created a Decolonising Midwifery Toolkit to ensure education is inclusive and add
Source: Birthrights (2026)
Racial Bias and Ethnic Health Inequalities
The cost of racism: how ethnic inequalities are standing in the way of growth
Briefing from the NHS Race & Health Observatory examining the human and economic costs of racial health disparities.
Source: NHS Race & Health Observatory (2025)
National Neonatal Project Final Report
The final report of the National Neonatal Project sees this long-term programme of work, led by the Baby Friendly Initiative, come to fruition. It examines how neonatal wards in the UK have implemented the Baby Friendly Neonatal Standards, and the impact this has had on neonatal care, parent-baby relations, breastfeeding support, and the experiences of families.
Source: UNICEF 2026
The Maternal Care Bundle: Reducing Maternal Mortality and Morbidity
The Maternal Care Bundle sets best practice standards across 5 areas of clinical care for implementation by NHS providers and commissioners across England, with the aim of reducing maternal mortality and morbidity and reducing inequalities in these adverse outcomes.
Source: NHS England 2026
The Renewed Women's Health Strategy for England
The renewed Woman’s Health Strategy sets out how the government will improve women’s health and healthcare over the next 10 years. (© Crown copyright)
Source: Department of Health and Social Care (2026)
Translation and Interpreting Services in Maternity and Neonatal Care
SANDS & Tommy’s Joint Policy Unit briefing paper highlights issues with the provision and quality of translation and interpreting services in maternity care, which, if not used correctly, can lead to poor outcomes and preventable harm. The paper gives recommendations to improve the accessibility and quality of care to women and birthing people whose first language is not English.
Violence Against Women and Girls
Read the RCM’s guidance on violence against women and girls including domestic abuse, coercive control, female genital mutilation and hymenoplasty. (© Royal College of Midwives 2026)
Infection
Stay informed with current protocols and best practices for preventing, identifying, and managing infections during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postnatal period.
Group B Strep
Group B Strep Support has a web page for maternity professionals to access resources to learn and share information on Group B Streptococcus. This includes training, guidelines, posters, leaflets and more.
Identification and Management of Maternal Sepsis During and Following Pregnancy
The scope of this guideline covers the recognition and management of sepsis in the antenatal, intrapartum and postpartum periods, including post-abortion sepsis. The scope includes bacterial infections arising in the genital tract or elsewhere and influenza and their management in secondary care.
This guideline is for healthcare professionals who care for women, non-binary and trans people suspected of, or diagnosed with, sepsis in primary or secondary healthcare. This guideline excludes mild to moderate illness in primary care. (© Author)
Source: BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (June 2025)
MMRV Vaccination: Information for Healthcare Professionals
From 1 January 2026, all children will be offered the combined MMRV (measles, mumps, reubella and varicella) vaccine at 12 and 18 months of age. This adds protection against chickenpox to the existing provision of protection against measles, mumps, and rubella.
This guidance for healthcare professionals describes eligibility, administration and safety, and answers frequently asked questions about the new vaccination programme. (© Crown copyright)
Source: UK Health Security Agency (2026)
National Measles Guidelines
How to manage cases of suspected measles: what patient details to take, who to notify and assessing risk of disease spreading in close contacts. (© Crown copyright)
Source: UK Health Security Agency (2026)
Review of the Effectiveness of UK Infectious Diseases in Pregnancy Screening Programmes
This report reviews data from each of the 4 UK programmes for the infectious diseases in pregnancy screening (IDPS) programmes in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It assesses the effectiveness of the programmes in reducing vertical transmission (during pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding) of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B and syphilis. The report also considers the wider impact and effectiveness of IDPS programmes. (© Crown copyright)
Source: British Government (2026)
RSV
Visit the ResViNET Learning Hub to access a large range of resources for clinicians and parents, including factsheets, clinical cases, webinars, podcasts and flyers.
Urinary Tract Infection: Diagnostic Tools for Primary Care
Quick reference materials for primary care on diagnosing and understanding culture results for urinary tract infection (UTI). (© Author)
Source: UK Health Security Agency 2025
Global Majority
Access informed resources and data to support equitable, respectful care for women from global majority communities.
10 Steps to Spot Jaundice in Black & Brown Babies
An infographic showing 10 steps to spotting jaundice in Black and Brown infants, including information on assessing the skin in natural daylight, checking the whites of babies eyes and performing a blanch test.
Source: NHS Race & Health Observatory, Medway NHS Foundation Trust (2025).
Review of Neonatal Assessment and Practice in Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Newborns
The Five X More Black Maternity Experiences Survey: Continuing the Conversation on Black Maternal Care in the UK
The latest report by Five X More captures the lived experiences of Black women across the UK who have been pregnant or given birth in the last four years. It explores the quality of care, communication with professionals, discrimination, and what still needs to change.
The findings are clear. Black women are still facing barriers, and the system must do better.
Copyright @ 2024 Five X More. All Rights Reserved.
The Motherhood Group
The Motherhood Group is a social enterprise that supports the Black maternal experience by delivering community-based events, training workshops, peer-to-peer support, national campaigns (Black Maternal Mental Health Week UK), and culturally sensitive programmes for Black mothers. (© The Motherhood Group 2025)
Health Conditions
See the latest guidance, advice, and information for maternity professionals caring for pregnant women and babies with preexisting or new health conditions.
Care of Late Intrauterine Fetal Death and Stillbirth
This guideline was created to identify evidence-based options for parents and their families who have a late intrauterine fetal death (IUFD) after 24+0 completed weeks of pregnancy of a singleton fetus. It incorporates information on general care before, during and after birth, and care in future pregnancies.
The guideline is primarily intended for obstetricians and midwives but also for women and their families, general practitioners and commissioners of health care. This guideline does not include the management of pregnancies at the current limit of viability (22+0–23+6 weeks), multiple pregnancies with a surviving fetus, fetal death following late feticide, late birth of fetus papyraceous or the management of specific medical conditions associated with increased risk of late IUFD, although many of the principles may be extrapolated to these clinical situations.
Recommendations about the psychological aspects of late IUFD are focused on the main principles of care to provide a framework of practice for maternity clinicians. The section on postmortem examination covers clinical aspects required for obstetricians and midwives caring for women who have suffered a late IUFD. This guideline is for healthcare professionals who care for women, non-binary and trans people. (© Author)
Source: BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (2025)
Lipoedema
Lipoedema is a chronic connective tissue disease that occurs mostly in females. It most commonly presents at puberty, pregnancy, or menopause – times of hormonal change.
Maternity professionals have the ability to support mothers who have lipoedema through recognising and understandings the symptoms. Read about both the physical and psychological impact of lipoedema on individuals through the leaflet below, provided by Lipoedema UK
Management of Thyroid Disorders in Pregnancy
Thyroid disease is a common endocrine disorder in women of childbearing age. There is variation in clinical practice and approach to thyroid diseases globally, in part influenced by differences in population iodine status. There remains controversy regarding testing for and management of thyroid disorders before conception, during pregnancy and postpartum.
This guideline presents the available evidence for best practice and, where evidence is lacking, consensus opinion by a multidisciplinary, cross-specialty team of authors is presented. This guideline is for healthcare professionals who care for women, non-binary and trans people with thyroid disorders in pregnancy. (© Author)
Source: BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (July 2025)
PRAMS Framework
The PRAMS (Perinatal Redesign for Accessing Mental Health Services) project used Experience-Based Co-Design to understand why inequalities in perinatal mental health care persist, from the perspectives of women with lived experience and the professionals who supported them.
The project has developed a framework for equitable perinatal mental health care, outlining a system-level approach to improving access, experience and outcomes for underserved women during the perinatal period.
Regional Perinatal Mental Health Care Pathway
The Regional Perinatal Mental Health Care Pathway has been developed to facilitate the prediction, detection and treatment of mental health problems in women and in the antenatal and postnatal periods. (© Author)
Source: HSC Public Health Agency (2025)
The RCM's Perinatal Mental Health Roadmap
The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has launched the updated Perinatal Mental Health Roadmap, a key resource setting out the RCM’s priorities for improving perinatal mental health care across the UK. (© Royal College of Midwives)
WHO recommendations on the management of sickle-cell disease during pregnancy, childbirth and the interpregnancy period
The guideline will be useful to those directly providing care to women during pregnancy and when giving birth, such as obstetricians, midwives, nurses and general practitioners.
This guideline will also be useful to health-care providers responsible for developing national and local health-care protocols and policies, as well as managers of maternal and child health programmes, and policy-makers in all settings.
Finally, the information in this guideline will be useful for developing clinical tools for pre- and in-service training of health workers and health-system strengthening efforts to enhance their delivery of clinical care. (© World Health Organization 2025)
Source: WHO (2025)