Italian midwives in Europe: a qualitative study on the experiences of professional migration

Aim

To explore the reasons for Italian midwives' decision to migrate, and their lived professional and emotional experiences.

Methods

A descriptive phenomenological study was conducted recruiting Italian midwives who were working abroad in European countries. We offered a telephone or web interview. Two researchers conducted, audio-recorded, and fully transcribed the interviews and other two researchers, independently, performed a content analysis.

Results

Thirty-two midwives having professional experiences in the UK, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, and Spain were interviewed. Five themes emerged: 1) Education, 2) Migration decision-making, 3) Professional experience abroad, 4) Midwives' perceptions of their role, 5) Satisfaction versus desire to return. Our findings show a general dissatisfaction with Italian job opportunities in terms both of access to employment and work conditions. This scenario is complicated by the status of the professional midwifery in Italy.

Conclusion

Stakeholders should ensure that the migration of Italian midwives is not synonymous with dispersion but is a channel of professional growth and mutual exchange.

[Functional state of the sympathetic-adrenal system in melanocyte-stimulating hormone deficiency under the effect of the melanocyte-inhibiting factor of the hypothalamus]

Fluorometry was applied to the study of the content of a number of amines (DOPA), adrenalin, noradrenaline) in the adrenal glands and various structures of the rat brain in endogenous deficiency of melanocyte-stimulating hormone of the hypophysis caused by parenteral administration of synthetic melanostatin (MIF) of the hypothalamus. The amines content in the adrenal glands medulla, and also in the medulla oblongata; the cerebellum, and the large hemispheres proved to change 30 to 60 min after MIF administration. The results obtained indicated that various links of the sympathico-adrenal system could take part in the mechanism of MIF action on the hypophysis.