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There are quite a few holidays dedicated to medical workers: Medic’s Day (third Sunday of June), Nurse’s Day (May 12), Paramedic’s Day (February 21), Doctor’s Day (first Monday in October), Dentist’s Day (February 9) and others. There is also a professional holiday for midwives.
When is Midwife Day celebrated in Our Country and the world in 2023
Unlike many professional holidays, the date of the Midwife’s Day is fixed: 5 May. Today it is celebrated in several dozen countries, including Our Country.
history of the holiday
The word “midwife” comes from the French “accoucher”, which means “to help with childbirth.” Midwives belong to the category of nursing staff, and they should not be confused with obstetrician-gynecologists, who have a higher medical education and can perform complex medical procedures. But the role of midwives should not be underestimated either: they help pregnant women and women in childbirth, take tests, can deliver themselves or assist a doctor, and take care of newborns.
Obstetrics is a field of medicine, in the field of view of which are the processes associated with conception, pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. It has its own history. Help during pregnancy and childbirth has existed since ancient times. We can find information about such important areas in Chinese manuscripts, Egyptian papyri, Babylonian and Assyrian cuneiform tablets, Indian Ayurvedic texts and the texts of the Hippocratic collection. With the development of medicine, knowledge about female anatomy and physiology and pregnancy also expanded. In the XNUMXth century, obstetrics took shape as a science.
At the beginning of the 142th century, the first conferences took place in Europe, which became the basis for the creation of the International Association of Midwives (International Confederation of Midwives, ICM). The purpose of the organization is to ensure the rights of women and the availability of obstetric care. At present, the Association includes 123 associations in XNUMX countries of Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America.
In 1987, at a conference of the International Association of Midwives in the Netherlands, the idea of creating a separate holiday arose. He was supposed to draw attention to their role in society and the importance of the profession. Since 1992, International Day of the Midwife has appeared on the calendar.
Holiday traditions
The International Association of Midwives annually develops a theme for the holiday. So, until 2015, it was held under the motto “The world needs midwives today more than ever.” Last year’s theme was “Midwives Defenders Women’s Rights”. In 2020, the day will be held under the slogan “Celebrate, demonstrate, mobilize, unite – our time is now!”.
The holiday is celebrated in different ways. It can be processions, concerts, solemn events inside institutions with congratulations, rewarding employees. Often, professional seminars and conferences are timed to coincide with the Day of Midwives, because this holiday is also an occasion to expand one’s knowledge, improve professionalism, establish new contacts, exchange experiences, and get acquainted with new achievements in obstetrics.
The midwife profession in history
This profession is not easy, and is suitable for those who like to work with people and are not afraid of responsibility. Midwives are trained in medical colleges and schools in the specialty “Obstetrics”. You can enter after the 9th or 11th grade. Among the exams are biology, chemistry and . The term of study will depend on how many classes the student has completed, as well as on the form: full-time, part-time or evening, on average, it is about 3-4 years.
The profession does not provide for great career growth, but this does not detract from its importance, as well as the demand for it. The specialty of a midwife will always be in demand.
midwives
In Our Country, midwives (midwives) provided assistance with childbirth. They had no education, used the methods of traditional medicine, for example, herbal medicine and conspiracies. It was believed that only a woman with impeccable behavior, whose own children survived, could be a midwife, because according to popular belief, she not only helped the child be born, but could also affect his appearance, health and even fate.
The process itself was akin to a magical ritual. It is no coincidence that they gave birth only in the bath. The woman’s hair was loosened, the knots on her clothes were untied, even the doors and gates were left ajar – so that the birth would be easier. The midwife swaddled the baby, bandaged and cut the umbilical cord, soared and washed the baby and the woman in labor after childbirth in the bath, and also prepared the house for the baby and helped with christening.
The patroness of the profession was considered Salome the midwife, who took the birth of the Virgin Mary. The midwives also had their own holiday – it was celebrated on the second day of Christmas – “babins” or “baby porridge”. Midwives were highly respected in the peasant community, because it depended on them how well the birth for the mother and baby would go.
And in the middle of the 1797th century, special institutions for the training of midwives appeared in Our Country: “Midwifery Institutes” and “Midwifery Schools”. The leading center was the midwifery institute opened in 1764 at the “imperial maternity hospital”. It was located in a two-story mansion on the banks of the Fontanka. When he worked, a maternity hospital intended for married poor women in childbirth. In the XNUMXth century, obstetric departments began to appear at universities. The first maternity hospital was opened in XNUMX at the Moscow Orphanage.
Doulas
Recently, doulas have become popular. They, not being doctors, provide informational, psychological, practical support during childbirth. But doulas do not provide medical care. Unlike midwives, they do not, under any circumstances, deliver babies, make diagnoses, or prescribe medications. Their task is to support a young mother in such a psychologically difficult issue as childbirth.
Midwives in books and films
Midwives or midwives can be found as secondary characters in books. But recently there have been novels in which they come to the fore.
Jennifer Whorf’s Call the Midwife was a real bestseller. It is based on her memories of working as a midwife in a disadvantaged area of London in the 1950s. In 2012, the BBC filmed a series based on the novel.
The life story of Anne Lohman is the basis for the novel My Unholy Life by Kate Manning. Ann Loman, also known as Madame Restell, practiced midwifery in XNUMXth-century New York, including illegal abortions.
Interesting facts about the profession
Unlike gynecologists, a midwife is a predominantly female profession.
For a long time, women were closed to medical universities, and it was obstetrics that became the area where they received a pass in the first place. It is women who own a number of inventions for gynecological examination.
In Germany, the competition for admission is quite high, and preference is given to graduates of gymnasiums (German: Abitur), rather than ordinary schools.
If someone you know is a midwife, don’t forget to congratulate her on May 5th.