New pay scale: Association fears "professional demise" of many midwives

Karlsruhe – The German Midwives Association (DHV) has warned that the new midwifery services contract, which comes into effect on November 1st, will force numerous self-employed midwives to give up their jobs. "The new contract will lead to earnings losses of up to 30 percent for midwives who work with hospitals," a DHV spokesperson told the newspapers of the Funke Media Group (Saturday editions). For these midwives, the last pay increase was ten years ago. For many midwives "who are in their dream job but already working with a precarious income, this decision is likely to mean the end of their careers. This applies particularly to midwives who work with hospitals," the spokesperson warned. The midwifery services contract regulates the remuneration and working conditions of all self-employed midwives nationwide. Previously, midwives were paid per birth. The new contract, however, provides for billing down to the minute for the first time. Midwives who attend births in hospitals as freelance midwives will only receive 80 percent of the new hourly rate. "Currently, more than 20 percent of births nationwide in hospitals are attended by freelance midwives working within the hospital system; in Bavaria, this accounts for the majority of all births," said the DHV spokesperson. "If these midwives now lose their livelihood, this will also lead to a devastating shortage of care for women and families in the affected regions."