Healthcare professionals who assist women during childbirth and provide prenatal and postnatal care.
From Old English 'mid' (with) and 'wif' (woman), literally meaning 'with-woman.' The profession has ancient roots across all cultures.
Despite the 'wife' element, historically many midwives were unmarried women who dedicated their lives to helping other women through childbirth.
Historically female-dominated profession systematized in female terms; modern practice increasingly includes men, but language carries female default.
Use 'midwife/midwives' regardless of practitioner gender, or specify 'midwifery practitioners' for inclusive framing.
["midwifery practitioners","birth attendants"]
Women midwives preserved maternal knowledge and safe birth practices for millennia before male-dominated obstetrics; their expertise was often dismissed as 'folk wisdom'.
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