Celebrating Midwifery Globally: Intangible Cultural Heritage

In October 2023, and formally presented at their 18th meeting in December 2023, the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage announced that Midwifery: Knowledge, Skills and Practices was selected to be included in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Selection of the practice and profession of midwifery is a profound honor and an important recognition of our profession.

UNESCO grew out of the First and Second World Wars, which occurred between 1917 and 1948.¹ European countries gathered and began looking for a way to promote peace globally following wars related to racism and anti-Semitism. They were later joined by the United States and many other countries.¹ UNESCO is an organization of the United Nations that aims to promote peace and understanding through education and culture by sharing knowledge and ideas around the world. Much more information about the history and ongoing activities of UNESCO can be found on their website. Readers may be more familiar with other UNESCO designations such as World Heritage sites, biosphere reserves, and Global Geoparks.

Cultural heritage is viewed as much more than monuments and items that can be placed on a museum shelf. It includes cultural traditions that have a history and context and are passed from previous to current and future generations. Cultural heritage may include art, oral traditions, social traditions, knowledge about creating traditional crafts, among other categories. These traditions are based in community.³ Midwifery is deeply based in community-based cultural traditions that differ country to country yet share a common language. Likewise, midwifery has been expressed in written and oral formats, visual arts, media, formal media programming (think Call the Midwife), music, poetry, and so much more. Midwifery is also based on a deep tradition of knowledge and skills, as well as the best scientific evidence.

The nomination of midwifery as intangible cultural heritage was developed by 8 countries: Colombia, Cyprus, Germany, Kyrgyzstan, Luxembourg, Nigeria, Slovenia, and Togo. The nomination process included providing descriptive information about midwifery, evidence of consent from the concerned communities, a description of the inventory of the specific intangible cultural heritage, in this case, the midwifery profession, as well as photographs and a video. Interested readers may review item 8.b.26, titled Midwifery: Knowledge, Skills and Practices, from the December 2023 meeting agenda.⁴

The beautiful film produced by the midwives in the 8 countries making the nomination, The Midwife, is available to midwives and others around the world on Vimeo (https://vimeo.com/432611607). It is a beautiful and timeless expression of midwifery art, science, and education that crosses language and cultural boundaries. The video is absolutely worth the 20 minutes of time to view the representation of our profession from around the world.

Amid wars, climate threats, and polarizing political views globally, we can all gather to honor the art and science of our ancient and contemporary profession. Every day we support people in pregnancy, birth, and related primary care. We celebrate a common language and culture in the miracle of birth and the humanity of each other and those we care for. Congratulations to midwives, or as translated in Icelandic and considered to be the most beautiful word in the Icelandic language, ljósmóðir—mother of light. Let us celebrate!