Augustine Colebrook, founder of the Midwifery Wisdom Collective, explains the medical and cultural role of midwives.

Across the world, midwifery has been practiced since the beginning of human life. Although cultural and social traditions and knowledge vary slightly from region to region, midwifery is truly the oldest profession in the world.

The earliest recorded mention of midwives is contained within the books of Genesis and Exodus in the Bible. But there are also ancient references suggesting that Socrates' mother was a midwife and that in ancient Greek and Roman worlds, midwives provided all of women’s healthcare needs.

Pliny the Elder and Soranus both speak of the work of midwives, and both wrote extensively about the common midwifery practices of their day, including the use of a ’birthing stool,’ which is still used today.

In many places around the world, with the advent of the practice of obstetrics in the early 1900s that centered technology, midwives were pushed out of practice.

But midwives are back, blending the ancient art of midwifery with modern science.