For Women

The term midwife is derived from Middle English: mid = “with” and Old English: wif = “woman”.

Midwifery is a health care profession in which providers offer care to childbearing women during their pregnancy, labour and birth, and during the postpartum period. They also care for the newborn through to six weeks of age, including assisting the mother with breastfeeding.

A practitioner of midwifery is known as a midwife, a term used for both women and men, although the majority of midwives are female.