midwife

/ˌmɪdˈwaɪf/

/ˈmɪdwaɪf/

Other forms: midwives

A midwife is someone whose job involves helping women give birth to babies. Some pregnant women get their prenatal care from a midwife, as well as delivering their babies with a midwife's help.

There are different categories of midwives — lay midwives attend home births, and nurse midwives also assist birthing women at hospitals and birth centers. In either case, a midwife is trained to understand the process of birth and techniques to make it easier and safe for mothers and newborn babies. Midwife literally means "woman who is with," or "woman assisting," from the Middle English mid, "with," and wif, "woman."

Definitions of midwife

1. noun

   a woman skilled in aiding the delivery of babies
   synonyms: accoucheuse

   type of:

   nurse

   one skilled in caring for young children or the sick (usually under the supervision of a physician)