International day of the midwife

We want to support the International Day of the Midwife, which celebrates and honours the achievements of midwives and their associations on the 5th May, every year.

In our ‘Development of an External Quality Assessment (EQA) Programme for Pre-Eclampsia Markers’ project, to enhance patient safety, we emphasise the importance of diagnostic work, high EQA standards, and clinically relevant programme development.


“Pre-eclampsia is a poorly understood complication of pregnancy, affecting 2-8% of pregnant women worldwide, with a UK rate of approximately 3%.”


Midwives play a critical role in the care of expectant and new mothers, including looking out for signs of Pre-eclampsia. An accurate diagnosis of Pre-eclampsia is essential, as the condition can lead to serious complications for both mother and baby if it’s not monitored and treated.


“Due to the relatively common and non-specific symptoms, approximately 70% of those suspected of having the condition do not have it – biomarkers to assist in the diagnosis have been evaluated for many years.”


EQA testing ensures that the performance of a laboratory device is objectively compared to a peer group of laboratories, which in turn improves the accuracy of the result and allows for a better diagnosis. If you would like to learn more about the development of our Pre-eclampsia markers EQA programme, you can read our poster in full by clicking the link below.

Read full poster

Thank you to all of the midwives for your support and expertise.

For more information on this event, visit Royal College of Midwives website.


Related EQA Programmes