Pharmacology education on women's health, pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding in Midwifery education

Abstract

Midwives are responsible professionals who support the sexual and reproductive health, rights, and welfare of individuals, families, and communities. In particular, midwives work in partnership with women to provide the necessary support, care and advice needed during pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. Midwives conduct normal births on her own responsibility, support breastfeeding, provide care for newborns and infants, and fully release mother-infant's latent strengths. Midwives also contribute in adopting appropriate preventative measures to promote normal birth and breastfeeding, detecting early signs of complications, and carrying out emergency measures or transferring the patient to other medical care or assistance as needed. In order to provide the best care to mother and infant, midwives should first learn the biological foundations of women's health, pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum, breastfeeding, and infant health. They must also understand the in vivo mechanisms and actions of the key hormones and neurotransmitters in play during the reproductive period. Additionally, midwives need to learn pharmaceutical treatments to complement and support biological function in cases of disorders or impairments occurring in women and infants. Midwives should also be competent in life support skills in obstetrics and neonatal cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The directors of Japanese Maternity Centers sign a contract with obstetricians that permits them to purchase and use emergency medicines. We facilitate midwifery students in their studies of medicine and pharmacology in order to train them to cope with such emergency situations. In this revision of the midwifery curriculum and the continuing education, we hope to create a new midwifery educational program focusing on personalized, client-centered pharmacology, with the ultimate objective to support and maintain the health of women, mothers, infants, child-rearing families, and communities.