The International Confederation of Midwives. Past history, present activities, and future challenges.

The International Confederation of Midwives is celebrating its 75th anniversary in 1994. The Confederation is composed of 61 member associations from 50 countries and thus includes more than 100,000 midwives. Its aims are to advance midwifery education and the role of the professional midwife, to improve the standard of maternal and child health care, and to support and advise associations of midwives in liaison with their governments. This article reviews the history and current activities of the Confederation, and discusses future challenges and new directions for the organization.