Joeri Vermeulen is head of the Midwifery Department at Erasmus Brussels University of Applied Sciences and Arts; a doctoral student at Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) in the Department of Public Health and an Executive Board member of the Belgian Midwives Association and the Flemish Professional Association of Midwives. He came to MUW for a study visit within the framework of the National Academic Exchange Agency's project entitled "International scholarship exchange for doctoral students and academic staff."
He gave a lecture entitled Midwifery professionalization in Belgium. In it, he presented the characteristics of midwifery practice in Belgium and pointed out how it varies from region to region.
- Among other things, our guest presented indicators on perinatal care. Surprising to us was the low percentage of cesarean sections - 20-24% and perineal incisions (similar percentage). It also turned out that midwives in Belgium (like us in Poland) face problems in terms of the autonomy of the profession and the ability to care for/manage women with physiological pregnancies - says Dr. Grażyna Bączek, head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Didactics. And she adds that Joeri Vermeulen's presentation also mentioned the process of training midwives in Belgium, which is similar to that in Poland. The important differences are that there is no limit on enrollment and payment for studies.
The lecture was very popular with midwifery students. A lot of questions were raised, experiences were exchanged and attempt was made to find a solution to the most pressing problems. Conversations continued long after the lecture.
- I hope this is the beginning of a good cooperation with the Midwifery Department at Erasmus Brussels University of Applied Sciences and Arts - concludes Dr. Bączek.