title: Advancing the public health role of midwives and maternity support workers.
abstract: Midwives are crucial to enhancing public health and wellbeing. Caring for families throughout the childbearing continuum offers midwives the perfect opportunity to address many public health agendas. All aspects of midwifery care can influence health outcomes and, as such, it is essential that all midwives embrace their public health role. In this article you will be encouraged to advance your public health role by exploring key midwifery directives regarding public health agendas; examining the outcomes of recent surveys and work conducted by the Royal College of Midwives (RCM), in the United Kingdom (UK); and reviewing ways to develop our public health role from a range of perspectives within maternity services.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gomez
mesh_terms: D004506:Education, Nursing; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D008427:Maternal Health Services; D009721:Nurse Midwives; D024802:Nurse's Role; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D011247:Pregnancy; D015980:Public Health Practice; D013338:Students, Nursing