“You are there for women at their most vulnerable:” The Duchess of Cambridge writes open letter to midwives

She is a longtime champion of the importance of early childhood.

And now the Duchess of Cambridge has shown her passion for the important work done by midwives and nurses in an open letter, posted on the @kensingtonroyal Instagram account. The letter, which was posted a couple of days ago, ahead of the year of the Nurse and Midwife initiative, which commenced on January 1st, 2020, thanked midwives and nurses for the important job they do. The Year of the Nurse and Midwife initiative has been set up by the International World Health Organisation (WHO) and it aims to shine a light on the work that nurses and midwives do. Speaking of her own experiences having her three children, Kate writes: "You are there for women at their most vulnerable; you witness strength, pain and unimaginable joy on a daily basis."

 

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Ahead of 2020’s International @who #YearoftheNurseandMidwife, The Duchess of Cambridge has written an open letter to midwives across the UK — visit the link in our bio to read the full letter. Writing in her letter, The Duchess said: • “You are there for women at their most vulnerable; you witness strength, pain and unimaginable joy on a daily basis. • Your work often goes on behind the scenes, and away from the spotlight. Recently I was privileged enough to witness a small section of it first hand, spending several days at Kingston Hospital’s Maternity Unit. • Although this was not my first encounter with the care and kindness provided by midwives across the country, it gave me a broader insight into the true impact you have on everybody you help. • Over the last few years, I’ve dedicated a significant amount of my work to the Early Years - the pivotal period of development between pregnancy and the age of 5 where children build crucial foundations for life. • Your role in supporting this critical phase of development extends far beyond the complicated task of delivering a baby successfully. The help and reassurance you provide for parents to be and parents of newborns is just as crucial. It goes a long way in building parents’ confidence from the start, with lifelong impact on the future happiness of their children. • I want to thank you for all that you do. It has been a real privilege learning from you so far, and I look forward to meeting and learning from even more of you in the coming years and decades”. • Several members of @TheRoyalFamily, including The Queen and The Princess Royal, hold Patronages in the fields of Nursing and Midwifery — The Queen is Patron of @thercn, and The Princess Royal is Patron of @midwives_rcm. Photos ? 1-4 by Kensington Palace / 5-6 by PA

Et innlegg delt av Kensington Palace (@kensingtonroyal) Des. 27, 2019 kl. 2:31 PST

The 37-year-old mother-of-three also revealed in her letter how she recently got the chance to visit the Kingston Maternity Unit in November and experience the team's work for herself. "Your work often goes on behind the scenes, and away from the spotlight. Recently I was privileged enough to witness a small section of it first hand, spending several days at Kingston Hospital’s Maternity Unit." It is clear Kate still remembers fondly her interactions with the midwives who helped her during her pregnancies and deliveries. "Although this was not my first encounter with the care and kindness provided by midwives across the country, it gave me a broader insight into the true impact you have on everybody you help." The Year of the Nurse and Midwife initiative will also be marked here in Ireland with events taking place across the country. The HSE writes on their website: "The World Health Organisation (WHO) designated 2020 as the “Year of the Nurse and Midwife” in honour of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale and in recognition of her contribution to health and humanity. The year 2020 is significant for WHO in the context of nursing and midwifery strengthening for Universal Health Coverage. WHO is leading the development of the first State of the World’s Nursing Report 2020 and the third State of the World’s Midwifery Report. These reports will be launched in 2020, before the 73rd World Health Assembly. The reports will describe the nursing and midwifery workforce in WHO Member States, providing an assessment of ‘fitness for purpose’ relative to WHO's 13th General Programme of Work (GPW13) targets."