Trends and Issues on Midwifery
The History of Midwives
The history of Midwifery was reviewed by (2008). The word “midwife” comes from Old English and means “with woman.” Midwives have helped women deliver babies since the beginning of history. References to midwives are found in ancient Hindu records, in Greek and Roman manuscripts, and even in the Bible.
As early as 1560, Parisian midwives had to pass a licensing examination and abide by regulations to practice. Not all midwives had this level of education, however. English midwives received little formal training and weren’t licensed until 1902. America inherited the English model of midwifery.
Early American midwives usually learned their craft through apprenticeship and tradition. They were not educated about scientific advances in fighting infection through hygiene and drugs such as penicillin. By the early 20th century, women and their babies were more likely to die under the care of midwives than under the care of doctors.
Around this time, American medical doctors began a campaign against midwifery in the press, the courts, and Congress. They cited the poor outcomes for mothers and babies under the care of midwives. Doctors might also have viewed midwives as competition.
The Works of a Midwife
The works of a Midwife is elaborately discussed by (2008) and stated that midwives generally spend a lot of time during prenatal visits addressing a woman’s individual concerns and needs, and will stay with her as much as possible throughout labor. They sometimes encourage physical positioning during labor such as walking around, showering, rocking, or leaning on birthing balls. Midwives also usually allow women to eat and drink during labor.
The Demise of Midwifery Profession
The demise or end of the midwifery profession is not basically caused by a typhoon that washed them ashore, but because of the educational and medicinal committee that wants to generalize the teaching of medicinal practices.
“What’s in a name? A midwife is different from a nurse”; (1988) answers the revolving issues about the Midwifery, its profession, its education and the factors that affects its existence in the field of medicine.
The midwifery is trying to strive for the real or desired independence of midwifery from nursing: historical, political and philosophical. Apparently, the midwifery education is noticeably decreasing and it is frustrating to the midwifery society and aiming not to let it die. There maybe a less enthusiastic and a conference motion calling for such expansion failed to attract enough support.
For once, midwifery was helped by nursing which would have made midwifery a ‘branch’ of nursing. (1988) relates the issue to clinical practice and promotes that care should be personal and evaluated; women should be supported in active birth; and upright birthing positions encouraged.
The midwives usually end up doing what the doctor’s order but still midwives have to restate their position and their identity. The midwife was professionally separate and different from nursing, with separate roots and a separate philosophy and educational structure.
The identity of the midwives is not emphasized and oftenly, took as a assistant or subordinate of the doctors. The midwifery profession is left shadowed into others sleeves. Because of the generalization that many countries imposed, the midwifery education continually ceases.
Flint (1990) stated that there are precedent countries like New Zealand, Australia, Japan, India, Scotland, and many states of America that treated midwives as illegal. Even in Canada midwives have just been having a tremendous fight to become legalized. But nowadays, this issue of legalization is not that popular because of the issues covering the midwifery concept.
(1987) added with a heartbreaking point of view that midwives have already given a great deal to nurses. The midwives have given a lead to the other professions in our code of professional conduct, the list of competencies, the statutory refresher courses and the education based on clinical practice.
Consistently, (1985) view that many midwives have been saying for some time that it is inappropriate (and very wasteful) for midwives to train as nurses first and midwives subsequently. The basis of nurse training at the moment is that the student is taught to look after the sick and make them healthy. But midwives rarely have sick people to look after – we assist healthy women and their families through a normal physiological process – and by putting them in a sick role, can actually do them harm.
In (1989) study, the effect of education officers with both practical and theoretical midwifery skills has meant a definite improvement in the climate for pregnant women, the gains in both `humanizing’ of labor wards and antenatal clinics has been great, and the awareness of the midwife of her skills and role has been increased by the midwifery education officers.
Conclusion
Educating the midwifery students deserves broad vicinity and the learning doesn’t evolve within the four walls of the room. In midwifery profession, the care is their main ingredient to establish their relationship to the patients.
The arising issue about the midwifery and nursing turmoil is the different concept that covers them. Many people often treat the two medical practices as one, and sometimes the nursing is above the midwifery. Another factor that it can cause the full demise of the midwifery is the fact that the, nurse can do the works of a midwife, but it is different in the way that a true midwife took care of the patients.
Midwives focuses on the psychological aspects of how the mother-to-be feels about her pregnancy and the actual birth experience. They encourage women to trust their own instincts and seek the information they need to make their own valuable decisions about pregnancy, birth, and parenthood ( 2008).
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