There has always been an essential figure to assist women in childbirth and motherhood. She has received various names, midwife, midwife and currently midwife.
This figure, is essential, not only for medical purposes. Actually a midwife (or midwife, which is also a profession for men), is a nurse specialized in obstetrics and delivery care. But It is also social at the social level, accompanying us in the physical and psychological changes that occur with motherhood.
The physiological need of the midwife in assisting at childbirth
Due to the position of the fetus and the physiognomy of the mother, it is impossible for a woman to give birth alone. You need someone to help your baby out of the birth canal. Without help you couldn't do it without bending your spine back and running the risk of breaking it.
It is a fact that evolution has complicated childbirth. This is due to the physiological changes that the human species has undergone over the centuries.
The paleobiologist Juan Luis Arsuaga affirms that there are two qualities in this regard that increase the pain of childbirth. One is the size of the brain and the other is the birth canal. Since the human being stood up, it changed, forming the uterus and vagina at an angle of 90º. This is what makes it impossible for a woman to give birth without help.
All of this is further complicated by the twisted cylinder shape of said canal, which makes delivery even more difficult. Above all, given the size of the human head, even though the brain has yet to develop. If our brain developed to term before birth, it would not fit through the birth canal.
Other functions of the midwife
Although the most basic and obvious role of the midwife is to assist at childbirth, this is not the only role that this very important figure for society has or has had in history.
In ancient times, took care of assisting women, not only during childbirth, but also during breastfeeding and raising the baby. Function that they continue to maintain and that becomes essential. There are many physical and psychological changes that new parents go through, it is vital to have good support.
They also had a legal work, being essential as judicial experts in inheritance cases, testifying about any doubt as to who is the firstborn. They also certified the virginity of the wives who requested marriage annulment. As in cases of rape or adultery, it was they who determined whether the acts had been committed, through an examination. These functions were carried out in different times and different religions. Although those referring to marriage were more frequent in the Middle Ages, in the Christian religion.
Also they took care of everything that related to the sexual health of women, showing them oils or ointments to help them, contraceptive or abortifacient methods. Function that many times brought them problems with the Inquisition and for which they were sent to the stake.
The midwives or midwives, transmitted their knowledge orally, so they also had a teaching job. They did not usually have a formal education, since in ancient times, illiteracy was common. However, according to the current king, during the Middle Ages, it might be necessary to pass an exam. This changed with the appearance of the universities. It was when the formal training system that we have today began to be created.
The social role of the midwife today
Currently, a midwife must first complete a nursing degree or degree and then study EIR (like the MIR of doctors). Subsequently, you will have to do the residency for two more years.
That is the big difference between doulas and midwives, formal training. Both some and others, they are the people who will support you in all the changes you undergo during pregnancy and raising your child. At least in the early years. The difference is that due to their training, the midwife will be more able to recommend any medical advice. They can better advise you on when you can use certain birth control after delivery. Also about your period after the puerperium.
At the social level, they are an important source of support in the changes that motherhood produces in our lives. They not only help our children to be born, they help us raise them as they grow up healthy. They help us to be healthy for our family.