A midwife is a health professional trained to support and care for women during pregnancy, labour and birth. They help pregnant women to stay healthy (prenatal care), assist the birth, and care for mother and baby in the first few weeks following birth (postnatal care). Midwives operate in hospital maternity units, birth centres, consulting rooms, midwifery group practices, community health centres and in private homes. First celebrated in 1991, International Day of the Midwives originated from the 1987 International Confederation of Midwives conference.
