The History of Midwifery - how far we've come

on 07 October 2020 Maternity Services

To commemorate the Year of the Midwife, the RCM has a produced a celebratory animation that shares a glimpse of the history of the midwifery, women supporting women, throughout the ages.

Starting back in ancient Egypt and Rome, the animation journeys to the 1500s when the first midwifery manuals were produced, through the rise of professional medicine and on to the maternity response to the current global pandemic, stopping at key point – including the start of the Royal College of Midwives – on the way. Key moments reflect the change in improving and developing the maternity profession and always putting women’s care at the centre. Midwifery and healthcare are constantly evolving and amending once cherished practice to improve outcomes, mortality rates and the working conditions of staff.

The film reflects on how far the profession – and care and support for women – has come, and looks forward to the next part of the journey.