midwifery
Sign in to saveMidwifery is the health science and health profession that deals with pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period (including care of the newborn), in addition to the sexual and reproductive health of women throughout their lives. In many countries, midwifery is a medical profession (special for its independent and direct specialized education; should not be confused with the medical specialty, which depends on a previous general training). A professional in midwifery is known as a midwife.
Key facts
- Medical specialty.title
- Midwifery
- Medical specialty.image
- 230px
- Medical specialty.caption
- A pregnancy check-up by a midwife in a birth center
- Medical specialty.specialist
- Midwife
via Wikipedia infobox
Research
99,773 papers- Midwifery theories: A scoping review.Midwifery · 2025
- Nursing and midwifery education, regulation and workforce in Kenya: A scoping review.International nursing review · 2023
- Midwifery education: Challenges for the future in a dynamic environment.Midwifery · 2018
- Gamification in midwifery education: a systematic review.BMC medical education · 2025
- Defining Midwifery-Led Care in the United States Using Concept Analysis.Journal of midwifery & women's health · 2025
via PubMed
Article
11 sectionsContents
- Midwifery-led continuity of care
- History
- Ancient history
- Post-classical history
- Early Modern history
- Modern history
- Contemporary
- See also
- References
- Further reading
- External links
Midwifery is the health science and health profession that deals with pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period (including care of the newborn), in addition to the sexual and reproductive health of women throughout their lives. In many countries, midwifery is a medical profession (special for its independent and direct specialized education; should not be confused with the medical specialty, which depends on a previous general training). A professional in midwifery is known as a midwife.
A 2015 Cochrane review concluded that "most women should be offered midwifery-led continuity models of care and women should be encouraged to ask for this option although caution should be exercised in applying this advice to women with substantial medical or obstetric complications." The review found that midwifery-led care was associated with a reduction in the use of epidurals, with fewer episiotomies or instrumental births, and a decreased risk of losing the baby before 24 weeks' gestation. However, midwifery-led care was also associated with a longer mean length of labor as measured in hours.