Why Midwifery Conduct Expectations Are Distinctive

Midwifery conduct is framed by the continuity, intimacy, and trust of the midwife-woman relationship. A midwife may be present at some of the most significant moments of a woman's life: pregnancy, labour, birth, the first hours and weeks with a newborn. The professional conduct required to sustain that trust is correspondingly significant, and the Midwifery Council's expectations reflect this unique context.

At the same time, midwifery operates under the same overarching legal framework as other health professions. The HPCAA, the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights, and associated legislation set the statutory conduct baseline. The Midwifery Council's framework translates these obligations into the specific context of maternity care. For a fuller view of how the broader NZ nursing and midwifery regulatory landscape fits together, see our guide on the Nursing Council of New Zealand professional standards 2026.

The Midwifery Council Framework

The Midwifery Council of New Zealand regulates midwives under the HPCAA. Its framework includes:

• Scopes of practice, registered midwife and related scopes, each with defined expectations
• Competencies for entry to the register, and ongoing competencies for practising midwives
• A code of conduct, setting out professional behaviour expectations
• Cultural competence standards, with ongoing engagement with Te Tiriti o Waitangi
• A recertification programme, including Midwifery Standards Review (MSR), compulsory education, and ongoing professional development

Together these form the structure within which every registered midwife in NZ practises. Conduct expectations shared with the nursing Code (dignity, partnership, privacy, integrity) are explored further in our companion guide on what does the Nursing Council of New Zealand Code of Conduct require, with many of the same principles translated for the midwifery context.

Core Professional Conduct Expectations for NZ Midwives

1. Partnership with Women

Midwifery in Aotearoa is built explicitly on the midwifery partnership model. The midwife and the woman work together as equal partners, sharing information, supporting informed choice, and respecting the woman's autonomy at every stage.

What this looks like in practice

Transparent sharing of clinical information; support for informed choice including decisions the midwife may not personally agree with; documenting conversations and choices rather than decisions made "for" the woman.

2. Informed Consent Across the Continuum

Consent is not a single event in midwifery, it is an ongoing conversation across pregnancy, labour, birth, and the postnatal period. Each significant intervention requires its own discussion, and documentation should capture the flow of those conversations including the timing and the woman's stated preferences.

3. Cultural Safety and Te Tiriti o Waitangi

The Midwifery Council has explicit cultural competence and Te Tiriti expectations as continuing competence. For Māori wāhine and whānau, culturally safe maternity care is integral to outcomes, and midwives are expected to engage deeply and continuously with this dimension of practice across Pasifika, Asian, refugee, migrant, and disability communities.

4. Professional Boundaries in a Continuity-of-Care Relationship

The continuity of care in midwifery, often across many months, creates unique boundary considerations. Long-term relationships, out-of-hours contact, gifts, social media contact, and community overlap all require careful management while still maintaining the warmth that defines midwifery partnership.

5. Safe Practice Within Scope

Registered midwives practise across normal pregnancy and birth, with defined expectations for recognising and escalating when care moves outside the normal scope. Knowing when to consult, refer, and transfer care is a core professional conduct matter, and delay is consistently identified in HDC and Tribunal decisions as a serious concern.

6. Honest and Timely Documentation

Midwifery records must capture the continuity, the conversations, the informed choices, the clinical observations, and the care provided. Records are frequently examined in any maternity-related complaint or HDC review. Contemporaneous documentation, not back-filled notes, is the standard.

7. Respect for Colleagues and Team-Based Care

Lead maternity carer (LMC) midwifery, hospital midwifery, and obstetric care intersect regularly. Respectful collaboration, clear handover, safe escalation across those interfaces, and constructive engagement when views differ are all conduct expectations.

8. Self-Care and Sustainability

Midwifery is emotionally and physically demanding work. The Midwifery Council recognises that self-care and professional sustainability are part of fitness to practise, not optional extras. Burnout and unaddressed fatigue quietly shape clinical behaviour, and protecting wellbeing is part of protecting the women in your care.

Midwifery Conduct Expectations at a Glance

How the Midwifery Council Addresses Conduct Concerns

Concerns about a midwife may be raised by women or whānau, colleagues, employers, the HDC, or the Council itself. The Midwifery Council assesses whether a concern raises fitness-to-practise issues and may resolve matters through education or conditions on practice, refer to a Professional Conduct Committee, or escalate to the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal. Outcomes range from education and supervised practice through to suspension or cancellation of registration.

Documented ongoing CPD in ethics, boundaries, cultural safety, and communication consistently strengthens a midwife's position at every stage of any process, and is regularly recognised as evidence of insight by the Council and the Tribunal.

Midwifery Standards Review (MSR) and Conduct

The Midwifery Standards Review is a cornerstone of midwifery recertification. Every practising midwife participates in MSR on a defined cycle. The review considers practice outcomes, reflection, professional development, consumer feedback, and engagement with the competencies. It is both a support mechanism and an accountability process, and professional conduct is central to what is reviewed. For practical guidance on structuring the CPD that feeds into MSR, see our resource on professionalism CPD for New Zealand nurses and midwives.

A Realistic Look at Midwifery Conduct in Action

Practical Steps for NZ Midwives

Document conversations, not just decisions

Records that reflect the partnership dialogue protect you and honour the woman's experience. Brief substance is enough; absence is not.

Treat consent as continuous

Revisit as pregnancy and labour evolve; document significant discussions as they occur. Real-time capture survives scrutiny; reconstruction rarely does.

Engage with Te Tiriti o Waitangi each year

Genuine ongoing reflective engagement, not a one-off module. Document at least one cultural safety reflective activity annually.

Manage continuity boundaries consciously

Warm professionalism is the goal, not either coldness or personal entanglement. Digital and social media contact carries the same standard as in-person.

Escalate when scope shifts

Timely consultation, referral, or transfer is a conduct expectation. Delay is consistently identified as a serious concern in HDC and Tribunal decisions.

Prioritise your own sustainability

Professional wellbeing is foundational to safe practice under the Council's framework. Support yourself as you would support a colleague.

Your Practical Midwifery Conduct Checklist