2.

The Member States shall ensure that midwives are able to gain access to and pursue at least the following activities: provision of sound family planning information and advice; diagnosis of pregnancies and monitoring normal pregnancies; carrying out the examinations necessary for the monitoring of the development of normal pregnancies; prescribing or advising on the examinations necessary for the earliest possible diagnosis of pregnancies at risk; provision of programmes of parenthood preparation and complete preparation for childbirth including advice on hygiene and nutrition; caring for and assisting the mother during labour and monitoring the condition of the foetus in utero by the appropriate clinical and technical means; conducting spontaneous deliveries including where required episiotomies and in urgent cases breech deliveries; recognising the warning signs of abnormality in the mother or infant which necessitate referral to a doctor and assisting the latter where appropriate; taking the necessary emergency measures in the doctor's absence, in particular the manual removal of the placenta, possibly followed by manual examination of the uterus; examining and caring for the new-born infant; taking all initiatives which are necessary in case of need and carrying out where necessary immediate resuscitation; caring for and monitoring the progress of the mother in the post-natal period and giving all necessary advice to the mother on infant care to enable her to ensure the optimum progress of the new-born infant; carrying out treatment prescribed by doctors; drawing up the necessary written reports.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-10-29 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.