University of West Attica

Recognition of Midwives' Competencies in Neonatal Critical Care, Perinatal Palliative Care and Bereavement Care The proposed revision of the Midwifery Directive is an important step towards modernizing European midwifery education by incorporating evidence-based practice, communication, perinatal mental health, critical care, interprofessional collaboration and neonatology.

Contemporary midwifery education should explicitly incorporate competencies in quality improvement, patient safety, clinical governance, leadership, and interprofessional collaboration. Since the adoption of Directive 2005/36/EC, healthcare systems have undergone profound transformation, with these domains now recognised internationally as essential components of professional competence for all health professionals.

The Midwifery Department, University of West Attica, believes the proposed revisions of Directive 2005/36/EC do not yet fully reflect several challenges currently affecting midwifery education and practice in Greece, particularly those arising from workforce pressures and evolving health needs across the life course. Greece is experiencing a significant decline in birth rates alongside an ageing population.

As a Professor of Midwifery, I endorse the European Commissions Draft Delegated Directive updating midwifery training requirements, which have remained unchanged since 1980. This modernization balances harmonized academic standards with scientific progress, reinforcing the midwifes role as an autonomous, evidence-based practitioner.