Continuing Professional Development or CPD is necessary for all healthcare professionals, especially midwifery. Midwifery practice is ever-changing, with several factors contributing to the need for ongoing learning to ensure that midwives can provide the best midwifery care possible. The CPD helps midwifery professionals to meet their obligation of providing an effective, ethical, and safe practice. CPD also allows midwives to respond and react to any advances in the midwifery practice, allowing them to be at the forefront of their careers.
Here are the top safeguarding CPD opportunities for midwives.
- Early Child Development
Midwives play an important role in the life of all childbearing women and their babies, wherever they are in the world and whatever circumstances. Studies show that skilled and knowledgeable midwifery care keeps both mothers and babies safe, promotes well-being, and minimises the risk of newborn mortality and stillbirths.
Midwives should, therefore, consider enrolling for an early child development course. This program aims to educate midwives on the various issues concerning child development. The program will cover topics like stages of child development, the importance of child development, vulnerabilities, and more. From these topics, midwives will gain relevant knowledge on how to adapt their midwifery practices to early child development.
- Basic Life Support for Newborns
Studies show that most cardiorespiratory arrests among newborns are due to respiratory insufficiency instead of cardiac problems. Therefore, midwives should be well aware of how to provide basic life support to newborns.
The Basic Life Support course will help midwives to understand the current legislation and local policies and procedures on newborn resuscitation. It will also teach about the importance of temperature control when caring for newborns. At the end of the course, midwives will learn to initiate an appropriate emergency response for newborns and provide care while adhering to the local policies and procedures.
- Self-Neglect Awareness
Self-neglect refers to an extreme lack of self-care that is associated with mental health issues such as addictions. Healthcare practitioners, such as midwives, often find that dealing with people who suffer from self-neglect can be challenging. This condition can happen to anyone, even expectant mothers, and this is sometimes difficult to detect.
Having an understanding of self-neglect and the complex issues surrounding it is a must for all healthcare practitioners. The Self-neglect Awareness Course will teach learners how to identify self-neglect and react appropriately. It will also discuss the possible causes of self-neglect, its link to mental health, and the most common signs and symptoms.
- Female Genital Mutilation – Awareness and Prevention
Female genital mutilation is a harmful practice that affects millions of girls worldwide. This practice is a clear violation of the girls’ and women’s human rights. Unfortunately, there is a lack of awareness of female genital mutilation worldwide.
To have a clear understanding and awareness of female genital mutilation, midwives and other healthcare professionals should take up the Awareness and Prevention Course for Female Genital Mutilation. The course will give learners an insight into female genital mutilation and the key issues surrounding it. It will also teach learners how to identify and assist those who are at risk of this harmful practice.
