The association is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. Luxembourg's midwives take this opportunity to highlight the importance of their role in society, and to demand a few changes from the country's politics.

Ideally, a midwife should be with a pregnant woman not only during birth, but also support the family leading up to and following the big day, which unfortunately is not usually possible due to lack of time. Midwives explain that more thorough support would have a few advantages. Natural births, for instance, would be promoted and c-sections would become less common as a consequence.

Nadine Barthel, president of the Luxembourg Midwifery Association, said it would be beneficial to all expectant mothers to have one-to-one midwife care, which would necessitate more trained midwives.

Training, however, remains a problem. Although the European Union has regulated midwife studies, so that the content of each course is generally the same, there are still differences to be found when comparing Luxembourg training to one of its neighbouring countries.

Representatives of the ALSF said the training in Luxembourg was somewhat limited, despite meeting EU regulations. In fact, one a students completes the training, there are no options for student midwives to pursue bachelor's or master's degrees. Vice president Yolande Klein said academising the job would help to make the career of midwife more appealing and more secure, as well as providing options for midwives to later go into research.

To celebrate their 100th anniversary, the ASLF has organised a photo exhibition, as well as conferences on the topic to spread awareness and information, with a view to one day changing the law. Currently, a pregnant woman can have six midwife appointments, but a gynaecologist prescription is required for five of these. Pregnancies are also handled by obstetricians throughout, which affects the midwives' autonomy. Barthel said an increase in pay would also enable more midwives to work independently and support expectant mothers outside of the scheduled appointments.