Abstract: Objective: To investigate the status of core midwifery competencies of midwives. Methods: A total of 432 midwives in 27 hospitals above Grade Two in Anhui province were investigated by using the Midwife Core Competency Scale. Results: The average score of core midwifery competencies was 3.94±0.60. Midwives' competency for pregnancy and labor and delivery care had the highest score, while their competencies for newborn care and public health care as well as pre-pregnancy care were relatively low. There were significant positive correlations between core midwifery competencies and individual factors of age, years of clinical work, years of midwifery practice, professional title, hospital grade, marriage status, graduated major, education, format of compilation, position, participation in teaching or not and obtainning maternal and infant qualification certificate. Conclusion: The overall midwifery competency level among Anhui province midwives are good, however, there are still obvious differences in the level of development in all aspects. The professional midwifery education system in China should be further improved. Hospital managers should implement specific training and management strategies according to the current status of midwives' competence, to give full play to the role of midwives, so as to promote the comprehensive improvement of midwives' core competence.

Key words: midwife; core competency; midwifery education