International Day of the Midwife: A look at celebs including Kate Middleton who praise midwives

While this weekend is poised to focus on the Royal Family as King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla are crowned in their coronation on 6 May, the Friday before is set to focus on celebrating midwives all around the world on the International Day of the Midwife 2023.

On 5 May, the world will come together to honour those who helped bring life into the world, support the mothers and their families as well as risk their lives to provide excellent care in recent years through the pandemic.

Celebrating in maternity units and through virtual events across the globe, people are urged to come together to 'spread the empowering solidarity of midwives across the nation' as the Royal College of Midwives calls for the Government to invest in maternity.

In light of the International Day of the Midwife 2023, PeopleWorld has had a look at when safe midwifery was first put into practice and famous faces who have rallied together over the past few years to speak about the importance of midwives and spoken highly of those who have helped them give birth.

Who paved the way for modern childbirth?

While the 28th March 2023 saw Lady Gaga turn 37-years-old, this day in 1690 saw Justine Siegemund pave the way for safe modern childbirth after she published her own medical textbook. Born in 1936, Justine Siegemund was a Silesian midwife who is celebrated for her work in not only challenging patriarchal attitudes but also providing the first comprehensive guide on childbirth.

Justine’s professional work made her an influential figure from the 17th century until now but she had to work hard to secure her place in the field as only childbearing midwives were supposed to practise all those years ago.

At 20-years-old, Justine suffered at the hands of ill-informed midwives who assumed she was pregnant when in fact she had a prolapsed uterus. This encounter spurred Justine on to learn about obstetrics and become a midwife herself, going on to provide free midwifery services to both underprivileged women in her area and noble families.

Justine’s career advanced further after she accepted a position as the City Midwife of Lignitz before becoming the Court Midwife of Berlin where she delivered the royal family’s children. During her time in this role, Justine published the first medical text called Court Midwife which set the foundation for modern childbirth education and became a way to document safe birth practices.

Which celebrities celebrate midwives?

Kate Middleton

Motherhood is so important and as the mother to the heirs of the British throne, Kate Middleton’s choices of where and who she chose to help give birth was crucial.

The Princess of Wales reportedly bonded with two midwives in particular to assist in welcoming Prince George and Princess Charlotte to the world through natural childbirths.

In fact, it was reported that Kate Middleton broke royal protocol in 2018 after spotting one of her midwives Professor Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent while she was visiting the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in London, and gave her a hug.

Emma Willis

Emma Willis has shown how much she respects midwives through her show Emma Willis: Delivering Babies, where she not only shines a light on the importance of their work but also turns her hand to shifts.

The TV presenter trained as a fully-qualified maternity care assistant in the first two seasons of the W Channel programme, before returning to the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Essex for a third season.

In addition to her television show, Emma highlighted the importance of midwifery in 2021 on May 5, the International Day of the Midwife, by posting on Instagram: “What a wonderful bunch they are…what a lucky girl I was to get to work alongside them.”

Zara and Mike Tindall

Midwives are those who help you through the hard times when you give birth, but for Zara Tindall the maternity practitioner who helped her welcome her son to the world, just so happens to be there through thick and thin as her best friend too.

Zara’s best friend Dolly Maude has worked as an NHS nurse for 13 years and was present for all three of Zara’s children’s births, while being helpful in making sure Lucas was delivered safely.

Zara’s husband Mike Tindall joked that Dolly was ‘more important’ to Princess Anne’s daughter than he was, saying: “Fortunately Zara's friend Dolly is, she's actually more important than I am at making sure she's been at all three of my children's births, she was there and recognised that we wouldn't have got to the hospital in time, so it was run into the gym, get a mat, get into the bathroom, towels down, brace brace brace!”

Christy Turlington Burns

Model Christy Turlington Burns has worked to continue raising awareness to pregnancy and childbirth complications, echoing the work of Justine Siegemund, after a retained placenta caused haemorrhaging following the birth of her first child in 2003.

Christy managed to survive the complication because she had access to lifesaving medical care but after recognising that not every mother will have the same access, Christy created Every Mother Counts.

The non-profit organisation is ‘dedicated to making pregnancy and childbirth safe for every mother,’ by informing and urging audiences to raise funds that support maternal health programmes and encourage political will for the cause.