Milestone: First doctorates successfully completed at the Center for Midwifery Science at the Faculty of Medicine

It is a milestone for the Center for Midwifery Science: Katharina Langton and Friederike Seifert successfully defended their dissertations on January 9, 2025. This makes them the first midwives to complete a doctorate in their subject at the Faculty of Medicine at TU Dresden.

Prof. Pauline Wimberger, Dean of Studies and Director of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, congratulated them together with Prof. Cahit Birdir, Senior Consultant for Obstetrics and Prenatal Diagnostics, and the Chairman of the Examination Board, Prof. Jan Dominik Kuhlmann.

"Both doctorates are an important step for academic midwifery training and the further development of professional midwifery science," says Pauline Wimberger. "The demands on the profession have changed significantly in recent decades. For example, the proportion of pregnant women with chronic illnesses such as obesity, diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease is increasing. Midwives have an important role to play in caring for these women and, in addition to a high level of evidence-based knowledge, must provide individual support to promote the health of the women and their child. Interprofessional collaboration, psychological support and the ability to respond to complex medical needs are essential."

In her work, Friederike Seifert investigated how mothers and babies fare around the birth if the women already had diabetes before the pregnancy or suffered from gestational diabetes during the pregnancy. For example, she investigated participation in the specific follow-up examination six to twelve weeks after the birth and recorded the satisfaction of the women concerned with the pre- and postpartum advice and information provided by midwives and doctors.

Katharina Langton's work dealt with the management of outpatient follow-up care for women suffering from high blood pressure during pregnancy and its consequences such as pre-eclampsia or HELLP syndrome. She compared the different manifestations of the diseases and analyzed which factors had an influence on participation in follow-up examinations.

The training of midwives has a long tradition in Dresden. Since October 2021, the Faculty of Medicine at TUD has also been offering academic training, making it one of 56 universities in Germany to do so. A total of 102 students are now enrolled at the Center for Midwifery Science. It comprises a standard study period of 7 semesters and is characterized by a high degree of integration between theory and practice.

Center for Midwifery Science at TU Dresden

Contact:
Katharina Langton
Academic Program Director Midwifery B.Sc.
Center for Midwifery Science

Friederike Seifert
Head of Educational Studies Midwifery B.Sc.
Center for Midwifery Science