Midwives will today (05 May) ask the world to celebrate the midwifery profession to mark International Day of the Midwife 2015.

Organised by the International Confederation of Midwives in conjunction with midwifery associations across the world, International Day of the Midwife is recognised internationally and seeks to highlight the significance of midwives’ roles in both saving and supporting new life and creating a brighter future for mothers, babies, and families across the world.

While the awareness day provides a chance to showcase the work that midwives do, it also emphasises the urgent need to improve the availability, accessibility and quality of midwifery services through better funding and support for the profession.

Head of policy at Thompsons Solicitors, Tom Jones said: “Midwives play a vitally important role in supporting new-born children and mothers.

“Pregnancy can be one of the most difficult times for women, and, in some cases, the only support and comfort found is with a midwife. The midwifery profession is instrumental in ensuring that new mums and their children receive the best care in the early part of their life, yet the previous government has brought about widespread cuts to the NHS which have affected midwifery across the UK.

“We are proud to work alongside our trade union partners to ensure midwives have the best levels of support and it is vital that midwifery resources are adequately supported by the next government in order to safeguard this important and valued profession.”