History of the ICM

International Journals, correspondence and papers relating to the organisation and Congresses of the International Midwives' Union, precursor to the ICM, and the first ICM International Congress in 1954.

Later records relate to the ICM history compiled in 1972 for the 50th anniversary of the International Federation, and include photographs and biographies of some of the founder members. The file also contains a list of Presidents of previous International Congresses from 1919 to 1978.

Prior to the constitution of the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) in 1954 at the London Congress, international Conventions of mostly European midwives had taken place as the International Federation of Midwives' Unions:

1922 - First International Convention in Bruges

1923 - Second International Convention in Antwerp

1925 - First International Congress proper (but also third international meeting since First World War) in Prague

1928 - Fourth International Congress in Vienna

1932 - Fifth International Congress in Ghent

1934 - Sixth International Congress in London

1936 - Seventh International Congress in Berlin

1938 - Eighth International Congress in Paris

The next International Congress was to be held in Rome in 1942, but due to the outbreak of the Second World War, did not take place.

The Secretariat was located in Ghent, and contact and communication between the different unions was through the international Journal Communications of the International Midwives' Union.Congress reports were published German, French and English, the official language(s).

The records of the Secretariat and meetings in the 1920s, kept in Belgium, were destroyed by fire in World War II.