Midwives Call for Urgent Climate Action

The New Zealand College of Midwives has successfully called for urgent climate action, with a ground-breaking position statement on climate change accepted today by the International Confederation of Midwives meeting in Prague.

The Confederation, representing more than 300,000 midwives from 102 nations, recognises the serious consequences of our changing climate for women, babies and their families, as well as midwives themselves.

OraTaiao: The New Zealand Climate and Health Council’s Co-convenor, Dr Rhys Jones has congratulated the College of Midwives, and in particular Lorna Davies, Principal Midwifery Lecturer at the Christchurch School of Midwifery and OraTaiao Executive Board member, who drafted the successful climate change position statement.

“Health professionals around the world are concerned about the very real threats to human health from our changing climate” says Dr Jones. “Midwives play an important part in family life, and their concern for the future of our children is clear.”

“Although most New Zealanders alive today will experience adverse climate changes from previous excess greenhouse gas emissions, the future for our children is even more sobering if we do not take urgent action now. Many babies born this year in New Zealand hope to live though this century. For them, predictions of sea level rises by 2100, extreme weather events increasingly becoming ‘normal weather’ and the likely global disruption to life as we know it, is simply not fair or acceptable”, says Dr Jones.

“Midwives know that we have a choice”, says Dr Jones. “We do not have to condemn our children to a future that the World Bank warned risks dangerous levels of global warming of 3-4oC by 2060 if we continue with business-as-usual. More and more health professionals are calling for a rapid transition to a low or zero emissions future that protects and promotes human health.”

Dr Jones concludes “Midwives know that our families and our future matter – we congratulate the International Confederation of Midwives meeting today on its strong climate change statement”.

ENDS

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