President (06) Dr. Diane Cutts 1995-1997

Dr Diane Cutts – President ACMI 1995 – 1997

It was a privilege and driven passion to accept the ACMI leadership position, with the guidance and support of the National Executive operating within the existing constitution, to serve midwives and women of Australia. The composition and function of the ACMI (the college) National Executive remained eight volunteer delegates and their respective support delegates (a feature introduced early in 1995 at the request of primary delegates), representing a State and Territory and providing a link between the National Office which continued to be located in Melbourne. Lorraine Wilson remained the full time Executive Officer supported by both a 20hr/week administrative officer and newly appointed (temporary) Education Officer.

The major activities and priorities were as follows:

1. Late in 1995 a Western Australia college member volunteered to accept the seeding role of National Research Co-ordinator working with the National Executive and State/Territory Research Representatives in advancing the research ethos of the college. At the time, a major project was proposed co-jointly for a Research Forum between ACMI and the American College of Midwives to be held back-to-back with the national conference in 1997.

2. The 24^th International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) Triennial Congress was held in Oslo, Norway in May 1996. Two thousand midwives from 75 countries attended; 128 from Australia easily identifiable with red Akurbra, apple green outfit and silk scarf with hand paintings of Australian flora. The theme of the congress was The Art and Science of Midwifery Gives Birth a Better Future. ‘Art’ being associated with sensitivity, subjectivity, intuitive knowledge and wisdom. ‘Science’ being associated with reasoning, rationality and objectivity. Within midwifery they are integrated. The papers and presentations were of high quality.

The ICM Council meeting held prior to the congress was attended by 104 delegates, and Australia had four representatives: Margaret Peters (Director of ICM), Judi Brown (Asia-Pacific Representative), Diane Cutts (Victoria, & National President ACMI), and Elaine Smallbaine (Tasmania, & National Vice President ACMI).

Pre-congress workshops were held, and a major priority for ICM was Safe Motherhood.In Norway, the equity that exists for women was evident and women can freely choose a midwife or medical practitioner as her primary carer and home or hospital as the place of birth.

A four-day mid-triennium meeting and Asia-Pacific Conference was planned for New Delhi at the end of 1997 or early 1998. ACMI to drive this meeting.

The ACMI bid to host the 25^th ICM Congress in 1999 was lost. It will be held in Manila, Philippines, and midwives of Australia will be giving support to their Filipino colleagues.

3. The impact of attendance on delegates at the ICM congress fed into the simmering collective ideology of the college and Australian midwives; wanting to reclaim, reform and advance midwifery as an independent profession separate from nursing, for the benefit of the women it serves, to strengthen the professions self-determination and identity. All part of a global trend for midwifery to have professional self-governance which in countries where this has happened, the public has benefitted and the profession flourished.

4. Consumers have asked ACMI’s view of homebirth. The response of the college was that ACMI supports NHMRC Homebirth Guidelines (1992). The ACMI Position Statement on Planned Out of Hospital Birth 3.4.0 was published in the ACMI Journal, June 1995:20.

5. Clarification regarding current ACMI Fellowship Categories were listed in 1997 as Distinguished Fellow, Fellow and Honorary Fellow.

6. Concerns have been raised by midwives in rural areas that they were required to work as both a nurse and a midwife. Whereas city midwives are concerned that they were expected to work in general nursing areas without the necessary clinical skills. These concerns were raised at meetings between representatives from the college, the Nurses Board of Victoria and the Australian Nursing Federation, together with the apparent anomaly of no provision being available in Australia for the registration of ‘direct entry midwives’ from New Zealand (NZ) or the United Kingdom. The Trans-Tasman agreement published in the ANC Inc Newsletter (November 1996), means that NZ midwives entitled to practice under NZ law can practice in Australia, except ‘direct entry midwives’, as there was no provision in any Nurses Boards to register these midwives. It was also raised at these meetings that such a provision was required as ‘direct entry midwives’ are attracted to practicing in Australia, and that the development of Bachelor of Midwifery programs in Australia was being keenly and positively debated by the profession, and consultation with stake holders and impacted groups was already underway.  In addition, it was argued that it was timely for the nomenclature for Nurses Boards and the Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) to include ‘midwifery’, eg that ANF become the ANMF.

7. Work continues on advancing midwifery as a separate discipline from nursing and advancing midwives as the primary carer for well women, working in a variety of models of midwifery care. In addition, important work continued on review of the Midwives Regulations (1986), the ongoing development, testing and validation of ACMI Competency Standards for Midwives, and introduction of a national Code of Practice for Midwives by working with the ACMI branches and Nurses Board of all states and territories.

8. The 10^th National Biennial Conference of the college, themed The Truth, Virtue and Beauty of Midwifery, was held in Melbourne on the 16^th-18^th April 1997. Four hundred and sixty plus midwives attended the Conference with large contingents of midwives from all States and Territories.