ABSTRACT
Midwives in England and Wales were made subject to state control under the Midwives Act of 1902, which aimed ‘to secure the better training of Midwives and to regulate their practice’.2 Prior to the Act, midwifery had been almost completely free from restriction.3 Anyone, whatever their skills or education, could take sole charge of a birth, even if it turned out to be complicated or dangerous. ‘Unless they do something so outrageous as to bring themselves within reach of the criminal law they cannot be meddled with’, a leading campaigner for state regulation fumed in 1898.4
Once the Act was implemented, midwives on the official Roll had to comply with the rules of the Central Midwives Board (CMB). They were required to follow antiseptic procedures, prohibited from laying out the dead and restricted to attending ‘normal’ births. Cases developing complications had to be relinquished to a doctor. Failure to comply with the regulations could result in penalties ranging from a reprimand to removal from the Roll. Much, however, depended on the local authority concerned, and perhaps especially the Medical Officer of Health.5
