The Midwife's Mission in Society

The midwife must not regard her work as merely a profession; rather, she must regard her profession as a human and social mission, on the good performance of which her standing in society depends. Accordingly, the midwife's task must not be confined to the scientific and practical sides, but must go beyond them to all the other sides, moral and educational. In this way the midwife carries out her mission in the most complete manner.

Then the midwife must possess fitting qualities, whether in her private life or in her dealings with others, in order to win the confidence of people, which she cannot do without in bearing the responsibilities she herself has chosen. Besides the capability and intelligence she is expected to possess, it is expected of her also that she be loving and beloved, so that she does not make of her profession a mere post for gain.

The ideal midwife is she who looks to her own interest only when it agrees with the interest of the woman whose care has been entrusted to her, even at some sacrifice of her private concerns. She surrounds the woman in childbirth with her sympathy and tenderness, and strives as far as possible to lighten her bodily and mental pains, so that the latter feels, in the midst of the aches and pains, surrounded by sympathy and care in the exhausting stage through which she is passing, and upon which the destiny of the human race depends.

The midwife is bound to meet many dangers and difficulties in the practice of her profession; she must not turn coward before dangers, nor let difficulties set bounds to her striving, however harsh they may be.

If it should happen that the midwife is called upon, on some winter night, to hasten to the side of a woman in childbirth, then professional and human duty require her to turn away from her own rest to the rescue of a woman in the direst need of her aid. The lives of two beings hang upon her, and the deliverance of these two beings is not to be weighed against a quiet night's sleep, nor against any fee received or not received by a midwife who has vowed herself to a noble human mission. There is no reward greater than the service the midwife renders to that woman in childbirth, gazing up at her with imploring eyes, begging of her her own life and the life of her infant.

The ideal midwife is she who respects herself and holds her profession sacred, for upon the measure of her respect for herself depends the respect of others for her. There is no good in a midwife whose uprightness is doubted, or who is known for her leaning toward gain by whatever road it may come, so that people's confidence in her declines.

And the midwife who respects herself respects her patients, whether they be well-off or hard-pressed. How often has the midwife received family secrets whose divulging might lead to moral and social disasters that would shake society and demolish it utterly.

The midwife, like the doctor, is a keeper of secrets; she must be faithful to whoever entrusts her with a secret, and strive with her wisdom to avert, as far as possible, what its leaking out might bring, exerting her efforts to escape its consequences. Here the midwife's gift is revealed, and her wisdom, and her ability to settle matters in the best of ways, without being swayed by the promises, the threats, and the temptations that people with designs may hold out to her, bearing alone her great responsibility.

The responsibility laid upon the midwife is very great indeed, and the sense of this responsibility, and the bearing of it, are the midwife's cause for pride: it is a scientific and technical responsibility on the one hand, and a social and human responsibility on the other.

And here I call upon my colleagues to bear their responsibilities with courage, sacrifice, and patience. I call upon them also not to expose themselves to responsibilities which, by the nature of their office, they are too weak to face; let them in such cases have recourse to the aid of a specialist physician, who is more capable than they of bearing them. The midwife has limits she must not overstep, lest she create for herself entanglements in which she is not called upon to interfere.

Blessed is the midwife who shoulders her responsibilities in full, for she regards herself as a mother to every newborn that sees the light at her hands, a sister to every woman who needs her help or her counsel, and a good educator for the community in which she lives.