Management and Leadership in Midwifery

The international midwifery and nursing literature reports leadership as something of high importance and that it is essential in promoting the quality of services. There is a direct link between the successful performance of the health care setting and effective leadership behaviors. There has been recognition of the impact of poor leadership with in midwifery, explained in a number of invastigation into adverse maternal and infant outcomes. There are many theories of leadership in international literature based on different disciplines. However, due to a lack of researche specific to health care setting, the appropriateness of these theories to midwifery and nursing has been questioned. However, in recent years, studies on midwifery and leadership have increased. One of the important studies in this context is the national leadership initiative conducted under the National Health Services in England. The Midwifery Leadership Competency Model was developed in 2002 as part of a national leadership initiative. This article prepared in order to draw attention to the importance of leadership in midwifery and to examine “The Midwifery Leadership Competency Model”.