this lecture was presented to the December 2016 midwifery class of the school for Enrolled Nurses and Midwives in Bansang.o

1. HISTORY OF MIDWIFERY:
MR. ABDOU PANNEH
(RM ,FWACN,DHAF,NT, RN)

2. OBJECTIVES
By the end of this presentation, students should
know:
• The history of midwifery
• What midwifery is
• Who a midwife is
• The types of midwives
• The roles of a midwife

3. HISTORY OF MIDWIFERY
• Although the seeds of midwifery were slow to
grow, they proved to be enduring.
• The word midwife is derived from middle English
‘mitwif’ meaning ‘with woman’.
• Formerly, midwives did not undergo any formal
education but they were women who had
experiences as far as childbirth was concerned
• In ancient times, midwifery had both technical and
magical aspects.
• During the 15th and 16th century, midwives were
burnt because of the people’s perception of them
as being companions of the devil.

4. CONT’D
• In Genesis 35:17 of the bible, the midwife was mentioned
as someone who helped Rachel, when she was in labour.
• In early Greeks and Roman times midwives were the
caregivers to women during their monthly cycle.
• Midwives used herbs and potions routinely before the
discovery of modern day medicine.
• In 1925, Mary Breckinridge, established frontier nursing
service.
• In 1928, the first professional organization for nurse-
midwives began with the establishment of American
Association of Nurse-Midwives.
• In 1955, the American College Of Nurse-Midwifery was
chartered.
• Between the 1970-1980’s midwifery began to grow
rapidly.

5. WHAT IS MIDWIFERY AND WHO THEN IS A
MIDWIFE?
• According to WHO (2013), midwifery
encompasses care of women during pregnancy,
labour and postpartum period as well as care of
newborns.
• International Confederation of Midwives (2014)
states that a midwife is a person who has
acquired requisite qualifications to be registered
and or legally licensed to practice midwifery and
uses the title ‘midwife’ and who demonstrates
competency in the practice of midwifery.

6. TYPES OF MIDWIVES
During the 1970’s, there were three categories of
midwives:
• Granny midwives
• Lay midwives
• Traditional birth attendants
Formal education has improved aspects of midwifery
and classified them into two main categories ;
• Certified nurse-midwife
• Direct entry midwife

7. ROLES OF A MIDWIFE
• Promote health and self-care to expectant mothers,
infants and families.
• Serves as an advocate for women e.g. cultural
sensitivity
• Focuses on health promotion and disease
prevention.
• Respect for human dignity and for women as
persons with full human rights.
• Although all midwives attend births in hospitals,
• they may also work in the home, clinics,
communities
• and maternal units.

8. REFERENCES
• Sara Howard (2013) Midwifery retrieved April
17, 2014 from www.powershow.com
• CordeliaS.H.(2014) A brief History Of Midwifery
in America. Retrieved April 11, 2014 from
wholisticmaternalnewbornhealth.org/professio
nal-education/history-of-midwifery
• midwifeinsight.com/articles/a-short-history-of-
midwifery/,retrieved April 18,2014.

9. CONTRIBUTION
S,
CLARIFICATION
S &
CONSTRUCTIVE
CRITICISMS???