Monday 5th May 2025 is International Day of the Midwife. Below we highlight the important role midwives play in genomic medicine, as well as some events and links to further information and support.
All midwives need to know about genomics. It’s now included in the NMC midwifery standards. (opens in a new tab)
Midwives and nurses are integral to the healthcare environment. Within genomics, they are able to play a critical role; listening to patients, observing symptoms, spotting family histories and referring through relevant pathways.
There are many examples of how genomics features in everyday midwifery practice, including:
- Preconception care and facilitating reproductive decision making.
- Reproductive technologies: assisted conception, preimplantation genomic testing, use of donor gametes.
- Booking: taking a medical, family and reproductive history to identify and act on genomic risk factors.
- Referring for specialist genomic advice. Supports informed decision-making in maternity care.
- Epigenetics: influence on fetal development and maternal health.
- Planning care: supporting someone with a genomic condition throughout pregnancy, labour, birth and beyond.
- Genomic tests: supporting during testing: e.g. CVS, amnio, NIPT, NIPD. Supporting parents after genomic diagnosis in their baby.
- Research: e.g. Generation Study. Driving advancements in maternity care, improving prenatal screening, diagnosis, and tailored treatment options.
- Bereavement care: helping families understand genetic conditions linked to pregnancy loss.
- Antenatal & Newborn Screening: genomics enhances antenatal and newborn screening by identifying genetic conditions early, enabling informed decisions and timely interventions.
- Pharmacogenomics: ensures safer medication use by considering genetic variations that affect drug response.
Watch our short IDM 2025 video
See our short IDM 2025 video
Link: https://youtu.be/2j_2hvk2NdE
Event: Our Future - Genomic Medicine within Midwifery and Nursing (13 May)
Join Central and South Genomics at a thought-provoking webinar on 13 May to mark International Day of the Midwife (opens in a new tab) and International Nurses Day (opens in a new tab).
In this webinar, we'll be celebrating the nurses and midwives who keep our health services running and exploring the application of genomics within both professions. Attendees can expect to hear about topics including:
- Genomics in maternity care from pre-conception to newborn
- The midwife's role in genomics research
- Nursing career progression in genomics
To book your space at this exciting event, please click here (opens in a new tab).
East Genomics links
Related content
Further information, education and resources
- See our 'I'm a midwife. Why do I need to know about genomics?' (opens in a new tab) resource
- Genomics Education Programme (opens in a new tab)
- Royal College of Midwives -Genetics and genomics for midwifery practice module (opens in a new tab)
- e-learning for Healthcare - Genomics in the NHS (opens in a new tab)
- Future Learn (opens in a new tab)
- Explore the National Genomic Test Directory (opens in a new tab)