Talk:Women medical practitioners in Early Modern Europe

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Decline of midwives?[edit]

In post-WW2 Europe, the average rate of midwife-assisted deliveries has been about 75%. This includes home deliveries, midwife-run units, and obstetric wards.

In England and Wales, this has dropped to 50% in the last few decades, and both the government and the Royal College of Midwives have sounded alarm bells about recruitment and retention. The pandemic has probably made matters worse, with nurses and midwives being shifted to other wards, leading to excessive stress. Some NHS districts have had to suspend home deliveries and shutter the midwife-run units.

It seems very likely that, even before the arrival of men in the birthing rooms of some countries, 75% would be an over-estimate for midwife deliveries. Consider, the poor and those in remote parishes. Neither we nor they would describe the mother-in-law or the next-door neighbour as a midwife.

More generally, this article displays the danger of relying on outdated or heavily biased sources, especially those with little grounding in primary sources.

David Harley 2601:245:C101:B4A0:9D66:24B1:B5EF:5C54 (talk) 22:20, 27 July 2022 (UTC)[reply]