Normal Birth Needs Supported Midwives: METIS in Berlin

What does it take to protect and promote normal labour and birth?

Evidence-based clinical practice is essential. But midwives also need the confidence, professional support and working conditions that allow them to put that evidence into practice — and to sustain a career in midwifery over time.

This connection between midwifery practice, professional wellbeing and workforce sustainability was an important theme for METIS at the Normal Labour and Birth Research Conference in Berlin held on 14-16 September 2026.

Prof. Julia Leinweber, Prof. Julia Hennicke and Prof. Vikentia Harizopoulou represented METIS at the conference, joining researchers, educators, students and practitioners in discussions about the future of midwifery practice.

Following the midwifery journey

Through two poster presentations (see links below), the METIS team shared work focused on different stages of a midwife’s professional journey: the transition from the final year of midwifery education into professional practice, and continuing professional development once in the workforce.

Although these are different points in a midwife’s career, they raise many of the same questions. How can midwives continue to build confidence and competence? How can education and workplaces better support professional development? And how can we create conditions that help midwives remain well, engaged and able to practise according to their professional values?

These questions sit at the heart of METIS, which is developing new approaches to support the transition from education to employment and the early years of midwifery practice.

Connecting with a wider European conversation

The conference also provided an opportunity to look beyond METIS and connect with researchers exploring many of the same challenges.

On the final day in particular, six presentations and several posters addressed topics closely related to the project, including midwifery workforce sustainability and the wellbeing of midwifery students.

These sessions created valuable opportunities for the METIS team to exchange ideas, hear how similar challenges are being approached in different settings, and build connections with researchers and students from across Europe.

They also highlighted something increasingly difficult to separate: discussions about the quality of maternity care are also discussions about the people expected to provide that care.

Supporting midwives to support normal birth

For METIS, one message from Berlin was especially clear: supporting normal birth also means supporting the midwives who make it possible.

Preparing students for the realities of professional practice, creating supportive transitions into employment, strengthening opportunities for continued learning, and protecting midwives’ wellbeing are not separate from the quality of maternity care. They are part of the conditions that make high-quality, woman-centred midwifery practice possible.

Bringing METIS into this wider European conversation — and learning from others working toward the same goal — was one of the most valuable outcomes of our time in Berlin.