Welcome to the History of Midwifery Blog!

Talking to a friend about midwifery the other day I repeated the oft quoted mantra 'Everyone needs a midwife!'

He laughed and said he didn't think he did. But of course, he had, far before he could remember.

Everyone who has ever lived needs or needed a midwife at some point in their lives. (Whether or not they got one is, of course, a different matter).

Another oft-quoted saying is that midwifery is the second oldest profession. I beg to differ. I believe it is the oldest. (I'd be happy to concede prostitution as the second. Maybe).

So, the history of midwifery and midwives stretches back to the beginnings of humanity. I don't aim to go back quite that far in this blog! I'm going to start with the medieval period in Europe, mainly because that's where my primary interest lies at the moment.

I've had so much trouble with this  blog - it seemed to be going fine and then suddenly everything disappeared.  Anyway, I'm starting it all over again, and if all goes well I'll be adding to it every few days. Here goes.