Two Hundred Years of Progress in the Practice of Midwifery

Abstract

No specialty shows better than obstetrics the tremendous progress that has been made in medicine in the past 200 years (see timeline, available with the full text of this article at NEJM.org). Progress in that ancient craft has occurred not in leaps and bounds or flashes of inspiration but incrementally by the incorporation of myriad scientific advances into obstetrical practice. These advances include improvements in general medicine such as aseptic technique, anesthesia, the ability to measure blood pressure and recognize its association with eclampsia, the understanding and technical developments that permit the safe transfusion of blood, and imaging technology. Equally . . .