What is a midwife?

Midwifery is an exciting and evolving profession in the health care sector. Midwives provide specialist care, education, advice and support to women throughout their pregnancy, during childbirth and into the early weeks after the baby is born.

Until relatively recently in Australia, midwifery training required registration in nursing as a prerequisite. Today, however, it is possible to qualify a person as a midwife without being a registered nurse.

There is a philosophical argument that child birth and reproduction are natural conditions and should not be treated as a disease or ailment, and midwifery is and should be considered a separate discipline from nursing.