Matronería Actual: Open-Access Midwifery Knowledge from Chile, Built for Shared Learning Worldwide

By: Nicole Iturrieta-Guaita, Midwife, PhD, and Ingrid Vargas-Stevenson, Midwife, PhD. Midwifery School, University of Valparaiso.

Midwives generate evidence that saves lives, improves experiences of care, and strengthens health systems. Yet many midwives, especially those outside well-resourced institutions, still face barriers to accessing and publishing research. When knowledge is behind paywalls or high publication fees, practice improvement slows and inequalities widen. 

Matronería Actual was created to help address this. Supported by the Universidad de Valparaíso and its Midwifery School in Chile, the journal provides a practical platform for sharing midwifery evidence and professional knowledge in ways that are accessible, clear, and relevant to care. 

This is also an invitation to the ICM community. Matronería Actual is seeking midwives with Master’s and PhD degrees to join its Scientific Committee and reviewer community, supporting the journal’s development as an international platform for midwifery research. 

Why this matters to midwives and associations 

Midwifery practice depends on accessible evidence 

Every day, midwives make decisions that require up-to-date knowledge. This includes clinical care, continuity of midwife care models, respectful maternity services, sexual and reproductive health, newborn care, education, and leadership. Open-access publishing helps ensure that: 

• clinicians, educators, and students can access evidence without cost barriers  

• authors can share findings with those who can apply them in practice  

• associations can amplify locally relevant research and strengthen advocacy  

• researchers can build collaboration across regions, methods, and languages  

Visibility and leadership in research support the profession 

Midwifery research is not only about publication. It contributes to professional voice and recognition. When midwives publish, review, and lead journals, it supports recognition of midwifery as a knowledge-producing profession and strengthens engagement in policy discussions. Building strong editorial networks is one practical way to support this. 

What Matronería Actual is building 

A midwifery-led editorial model 

Matronería Actual is guided by a structured editorial model with academic leadership and specialist support. The editorial team includes seven PhD-prepared members and is led by Director Ingrid Vargas Stevenson, PhD, and Editor-in-Chief Paula Oyarzún Andrades, PhD, supported by area editors, a layout designer, and a style corrector. 

This supports quality. A journal’s credibility depends on the expertise of its editors and reviewers, clear processes, and consistent reporting standards. 

A focus on relevance, rigour, and readability 

For a global audience, research must be both robust and usable. Matronería Actual aims to publish work that helps midwives to: 

• improve care and communication with women, newborns, and families  

• evaluate services and support implementation of change  

• strengthen education and clinical training  

• contribute to equitable, rights-based sexual and reproductive health care  

• learn from approaches across settings, including community, hospital, primary care, and universities  

Matronería Actual: Key figures 

Since 2020, 86 research articles have been published, including original studies (qualitative and quantitative), systematic reviews, clinical case reports, and reflection articles. More than 90% of authors are midwives. Articles have been viewed 18,386 times and downloaded 2,701 times. 

How to engage with Matronería Actual 

1) Become a peer reviewer 

Peer review is a key contribution to midwifery research. Reviewers help strengthen manuscripts to ensure they are clear, methodologically sound, and relevant to practice. 

You can volunteer as a reviewer if you have a Master’s or PhD degree, and experience in: 

• clinical midwifery (maternal and newborn health)  

• sexual and reproductive health and rights  

• public health, community programmes, or primary care  

• education, simulation, or curriculum development  

• leadership, management, and service improvement  

• qualitative, quantitative, or mixed-methods research  

Suggested action: Share this opportunity with experienced members in your association who can review two to four manuscripts per year, depending on their availability. 

2) Join the Editorial Team 

Matronería Actual is inviting midwives with a PhD to strengthen its international perspective and quality improvement work. 

Scientific Committee members may contribute by: 

• advising on strategic direction, scope, and ethical standards  

• supporting reviewer development and mentorship  

• strengthening international collaboration  

• supporting outreach and indexing goals  

3) Encourage submissions and share published work 

Associations and regional representatives can help ensure midwifery evidence reaches wider audiences by: 

• encouraging members to submit research, evaluations, or practice-based evidence  

• sharing published articles through newsletters and webinars  

• proposing themed issues aligned with regional priorities  

• connecting early-career researchers with mentors and writing support  

What to send if you want to get involved 

Matronería Actual welcomes a short message including: 

• your name, role, and institution or association  

• degree (Master’s or PhD) and areas of expertise  

• languages you can review in  

• a short CV or link to an academic profile  

• whether you would like to join the Scientific Committee, act as a reviewer, or both  

Learn more and contact 

If you are an ICM regional representative, association leader, or midwifery researcher interested in collaborating, please get in touch: 

Website: revistamatroneria.cl
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: @Revistamatroneria
LinkedIn: Revista Matroneria Actual 

Matronería Actual provides a practical link between research and care, rooted in Latin America and strengthened through international collaboration. Midwives who contribute as reviewers or Scientific Committee members support the sharing, improvement, and use of midwifery knowledge.