Trends in Midwifery Research

Midwifery is used to describe a number of different types of healthpractitioners, other than doctors, who provide prenatal care to expectingmothers, attend the birth of the infant and provide postnatal care to themother and infant. Nurse-midwives also provide gynaecological care towomen of all ages. Practitioners of midwifery are known as midwives, aterm used in reference to both women and men (the term means withthe woman). Most are independent practitioners who work withobstetricians when the need arises. They usually deal with normalbirths only but are trained to recognise and deal with deviation from thenorm. If something abnormal is discovered during prenatal care, theclient is sent to an obstetrician. Other midwives will deal with abnormalbirths, including breech birth.