The case in summary: • There is a shortage of midwives in Norway and many of those in the profession are approaching retirement age. In addition, too few are educated. This creates concern for patient safety among pregnant women.• Despite a falling birth rate, the Midwives’ Association believes that the need for midwives is not necessarily reduced, since today’s pregnant women are older and have more illnesses. • Lack of internships is one of the main reasons why more midwives are not being trained, despite the fact that midwifery training is highly sought after. • The daily working life for midwives can be demanding and uncertain, and many newly qualified midwives do not get a permanent job. Over 20 per cent of midwives have reduced their position due to high work pressure, and 60 per cent have considered quitting, according to the midwives association NSF.• Health and Care Minister Ingvild Kjerkol is aware of the problems and has promised to address the challenges surrounding the midwife shortage, including another by creating more study places and working for more permanent positions. Nevertheless, no major changes have taken place halfway into the government period. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. Miriam Sangolt Tjelflaat is 24 years old and has worked as a nurse for one year. She herself has considered whether she should further her education to become a midwife, but there are several things that speak against it. Miriam Sangolt Tjelflaat attends the Doula School because she wants to give the birthing person the personal follow-up that midwives often don’t have time for, due to the high workload. Photo: Privat The workload is the main reason why Tjelflaat has the most doubts about whether she wants to take that career path. She also says that both she and several people she knows are afraid to give birth because of the shortage of midwives. – It’s because I’m afraid that I won’t be met with the care I’m entitled to as a child. That there are nurses who doubt whether they should become midwives is something Norway and the healthcare system cannot afford at the moment. Many are approaching retirement age Because at the same time that too few midwives are being trained, many of today’s midwives are approaching retirement age. The fear is that it will threaten patient safety for those giving birth in Norway. According to Statistics Norway, there were 122 employed midwives in the age group 65–66 in 2021. In 2022, the number was 91. – The authorities have not planned well enough for the situation with many midwives approaching retirement. Recruitment measures are lacking and at the same time too few are trained, says Hanne Charlotte Schjelderup, head of the Midwives Association NSF. Hanne Charlotte Schjelderup is head of NSF, and says admission places to the midwifery course and internships are important to obtain. Photo: Midwives’ Association SSB believes that we will see a slight decrease in the number of midwives until 2035. At the same time, the number of births in Norway is falling. Hanne Charlotte Schjelderup, believes that fewer births do not necessarily ease the need for midwives. – Today’s mothers have become older and have more illnesses. One in three births is initiated and this requires increased monitoring with more midwives at work, says Schjelderup. – According to our research, a changing birth population and a shortage of midwives is an unfortunate combination that affects the patient safety of those giving birth. But even if there is a need for more midwives, there will not be more study places. No increase in study places Six universities in Norway offer midwifery education. Their figures show that there is a lot of competition for study places. As you can see in the model, recruitment is not the problem. Nevertheless, the study places are not filled up. The reason is a lack of internships, according to deputy head of department at the Department of Health and Care Sciences at Vestlandet University College, Else Cathrine Lütcherath Rustad. – There is a great need for midwives and we would like to train more, but there are strict requirements for practice, she says. According to Rustad, one of the challenges is the number of births that the students will be involved in during their education. Schjelderup says that the maternity services are exposed to cuts and downsizing in the current funding system. – We at NSF have made it clear that it is urgent to get good solutions, she says. Photo: private Hanne Charlotte Schjelderup in the NSF believes that the basic staffing in the field of practice must be increased and the maternity units that are left must be kept, in order to be able to accept more nurses who are taking further training. But for those who take further education, everyday work as a new midwife can be both demanding and uncertain. In a survey carried out by NSF, only 3 out of 5 new midwives got a permanent job. – It is a waste of very competent labor who have spent a long time getting their education in Norway, says Schjelderup. In addition, the workload can be demanding. – Stands for life 21-year-old Stine-Marie Fonnes is studying nursing at the University of Western Norway, with the aim of becoming a midwife. She says she has friends who are newly qualified nurses who have worked for a year and are already burnt out. Stine-Marie Fonnes studies nursing and aims to become a midwife. Photo: Private – And no one wants to be burned out at the age of 25–30. – You get irritated. The average to enter the study program is terribly high and once you have made it through it is difficult to get a permanent position. – It says about the lives of the future generation, and I think that is worth prioritizing. The politicians should also realize that. According to NSF’s member survey from January 2023, over 20 per cent of midwives have reduced their position due to high work pressure. 60 percent have considered quitting. – It requires funds, money and prioritization in the state budget, in addition to prioritization by the Minister of Health in collaboration with the management of various enterprises, says Hanne Charlotte Schjelderup. The Minister of Health and Care, Ingvild Kjerkol (Ap), is aware of all this. As early as 2021, she promised to tackle the challenges surrounding the midwife shortage. In addition to looking at staffing and full-time positions, a commission was to be set up to propose measures to train, recruit and retain qualified health personnel. But the Midwives’ Association is not impressed by what has changed halfway through the government period. – I would have liked to see that the work had progressed further – The authorities must take the serious reports about the downsizing of maternity services and the midwife shortage with the utmost seriousness, says Schjelderup, and adds that development is progressing too slowly. The Minister of Health himself says that they are well underway in improving the situation. – Now we have enough reports and large investigations that show clear challenges in today’s maternity services, says the Minister of Health and Care. Photo: Even Bjøringsøy Johnsen – We have created 300 more study places for further education in nursing, including midwives. At the same time, we collaborate with the Ministry of Education and Science on more study places and specialization. – Have you planned for many midwives approaching retirement age? – I would have liked to see this work progress further, Kjerkol replies. – It is very important that we retain professionals in our joint health service, while at the same time we get to use their expertise as best as possible. She also promises that they will work for more permanent positions. – That must be the standard in our joint health service. There is a great need for midwives in the service, and they must be offered full, permanent positions, says Kjerkol. She adds that the government has allocated 57.9 million to a project that supports pilots for more full-time and part-time in the health service. See the response from the Ministry of Health and Care Services here: Ministry of Education, State Secretary Oddmund Løkensgard Hoel: The government allocated funds for 300 new study places within nursing and specialist nursing education in the state budget for 2022. The universities and colleges should, as far as possible, prioritize these further education within nursing education: midwifery, health nursing, and ABIOK nursing (anaesthesia, children’s, intensive care, surgery and cancer nurse training). The government is keen to train well-qualified health personnel, and then we depend on the educational institutions and health services to cooperate well on both educational needs, but also on the implementation of the education. Increased educational capacity within midwifery education depends on access to internships. The Ministry of Health and Care also informs that: Universities and colleges are framework-funded and must, within their own budget framework, dimension the study offer in dialogue with society and working life, among other things on the basis of society’s need for competence Practice capacity is a challenge for several health education programmes. Utilization of practice capacity is primarily about good and coordinated cooperation between the health and care services and the university and college sector. The government has several initiatives with the aim of improving practice capacity. During the spring of 2024, the Government will present a report to the Storting on professional education, in which, among other things, practice will be discussed. We will come back with a comprehensive review of the field of expertise and maternity and maternity services in connection with the National Health and Cooperation Plan. – What do you think about the fact that women like Miriam are afraid to give birth, and fear that the lack of midwives will mean that they will not receive the care they are entitled to when giving birth? – We must take such feedback seriously. Although we have a good delivery and maternity service, it must be continuously improved. We work on this every day. – Work to train more specialist nurses, including midwives, is underway. The government has also asked for a comprehensive review of the entire maternity and maternity offer so that we can improve the offer where needed, concludes Kjerkol. Hi! Do you have thoughts, tips or a story to share? Then I’d love to hear 🙂 Send me an email!
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Ingvild Kjerkol said the government should solve the midwife shortage, but the midwives association believes little has changed – news Nordland
