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CONFERENCE PROCEEDING
Mapping core competencies for midwifery clinical practice and assessing training needs: A national cross-sectional observational study
1
Fondazione Policlinico Agostino Gemelli - IRCSS, Gynecology and Obstetrics, Rome, Italy
2
University Cattolica of Sacred Heart, Midwifery, Rome, Italy
3
Ospedale San Camillo Forlanini, Gynaecology and Obstetric, Rome, Italy
Eur J Midwifery 2026;10(Supplement 1):A719
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Mapping midwives’ competencies is pivotal for aligning Italian education with international standards and ultimately improving maternal–infant outcomes. Yet few nationwide profiles of self-perceived skills and training gaps exist.
OBJECTIVES:
To profile Italian midwives’ self-perceived essential competencies and identify priority training needs.
METHODS:
A national cross-sectional online survey (up to March 2025) circulated via professional Orders employed a 98-item instrument derived from the 2019 International Confederation of Midwives framework. Content validity was excellent (Ave-CVI 0.99). Items were rated on a five-point Likert scale. Descriptive statistics summarised mean scores; subgroup analyses compared midwives with ≤12 versus >12 years’ experience. This interim analysis includes 126 licensed midwives.
RESULTS:
Mean global scores indicated high overall confidence. The strongest domain was care during labour and birth (4.28 ± 0.97), followed by general competencies (4.04 ± 0.92). Sub-domains scoring ≥4 included birth coaching (4.02), labor (4.31), hands-on birth care (4.40), immediate postpartum (4.44), and breastfeeding support (4.38) . Lower values emerged for antenatal skills (3.43 ± 1.01) and, most notably, family planning and rehabilitation (3.15 ± 1.32). Midwives with more than twelve years’ experience outperformed newer colleagues across all domains (p < 0.001). The highest individual item was promoting early exclusive breastfeeding (4.67 ± 0.60), whereas assisting couples undergoing medically assisted reproduction scored the lowest (2.84 ± 1.21)
CONCLUSIONS:
Italian midwives feel highly competent in intrapartum care and breastfeeding but identify critical deficits in reproductive counselling, pelvic-floor rehabilitation, neonatal screening and support for assisted conception. These gaps define priorities for undergraduate curricula, structured CPD and workforce realignment.
KEY MESSAGE:
Italian midwives excel in labour and breastfeeding support but urgently need further training in reproductive counselling, rehabilitation and assisted-reproduction care to meet evolving service demands. Poster session 3 (Group B)
Mapping midwives’ competencies is pivotal for aligning Italian education with international standards and ultimately improving maternal–infant outcomes. Yet few nationwide profiles of self-perceived skills and training gaps exist.
OBJECTIVES:
To profile Italian midwives’ self-perceived essential competencies and identify priority training needs.
METHODS:
A national cross-sectional online survey (up to March 2025) circulated via professional Orders employed a 98-item instrument derived from the 2019 International Confederation of Midwives framework. Content validity was excellent (Ave-CVI 0.99). Items were rated on a five-point Likert scale. Descriptive statistics summarised mean scores; subgroup analyses compared midwives with ≤12 versus >12 years’ experience. This interim analysis includes 126 licensed midwives.
RESULTS:
Mean global scores indicated high overall confidence. The strongest domain was care during labour and birth (4.28 ± 0.97), followed by general competencies (4.04 ± 0.92). Sub-domains scoring ≥4 included birth coaching (4.02), labor (4.31), hands-on birth care (4.40), immediate postpartum (4.44), and breastfeeding support (4.38) . Lower values emerged for antenatal skills (3.43 ± 1.01) and, most notably, family planning and rehabilitation (3.15 ± 1.32). Midwives with more than twelve years’ experience outperformed newer colleagues across all domains (p < 0.001). The highest individual item was promoting early exclusive breastfeeding (4.67 ± 0.60), whereas assisting couples undergoing medically assisted reproduction scored the lowest (2.84 ± 1.21)
CONCLUSIONS:
Italian midwives feel highly competent in intrapartum care and breastfeeding but identify critical deficits in reproductive counselling, pelvic-floor rehabilitation, neonatal screening and support for assisted conception. These gaps define priorities for undergraduate curricula, structured CPD and workforce realignment.
KEY MESSAGE:
Italian midwives excel in labour and breastfeeding support but urgently need further training in reproductive counselling, rehabilitation and assisted-reproduction care to meet evolving service demands. Poster session 3 (Group B)
| eISSN: | 2585-2906 |
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