The 34th Congress of the International Confederation of Midwives takes place in Lisbon, Portugal in June 2026. Dr Jenny Hall, Editor of the Maternity and Midwifery forum shares information on how you may be involved.
Every three years the International Confederation of midwives (ICM) holds an event gathering midwives from all over the world at the Triennial congress. The 34th congress takes place from the 14th-18th June in Lisbon, Portugal, co-hosted by the Associação Portuguesa Dos Enfermeiros Obstetras (APEO). The theme of the event, One Million More Midwives, aims to raise concerns about the global shortage of midwives, and the subsequent impact this has on women’s reproductive health needs. A focus will be on the critical role midwives play in improving sexual and reproductive health outcomes, gender equality and advancing the Sustainable Development Goals.
There is currently a chance to submit to present at the congress, whether as a talk, symposium with others or a poster. There is also opportunity to enter the three-minute presentation competition: present your study or ideas in three minutes! It is an amazing opportunity to present your research and clinical practice that is taking place to a truly global audience. You have until 25th June 2025 to submit. Submission guidelines are available here.
If you would like to know more about what the congress may be like Dianne Garland provides some insight here of her experiences of being at the last event in Bali in 2023, following the Covid19 pandemic. Reflections from ICM Bali 2023: back “Together again” – Maternity & Midwifery Forum She relates about some of the talks she attended as well as some of the people she met. Dianne had also had the opportunity to present her poster about a woman who had a waterbirth following a 4th degree tear.
This reel, jointly prepared with All4Maternity, demonstrates the importance of the event to midwives all over the world. ICM conference reel on Vimeo
And of course, if you are not able to get to Lisbon, there are many opportunities to submit to the Maternity and Midwifery forum festivals throughout the year! Check out the events tab on the forum website for more information.
Dr Jenny Hall
Editor, Maternity and Midwifery forum and Matflix
April 2025