ABSTRACT
In England, the sixteenth century, which encompassed both the Renaissance and the Reformation, can be seen as a watershed between the medieval and the modem world. During the reign of Henry VIII, quite severe inflation had caused hardship to many people, particularly the peasants, large numbers of whom were dispossessed of their land by Enclosure Acts. Some physicians in Germany, Holland, Switzerland, and France interested themselves in midwifery as early as the fifteenth century and began to organise and regulate the practice of midwives. In 1452, what is thought to be the first municipal system of midwife regulation in Europe was set up in Regensburg, Bavaria. In Scodand during this century, under the direct influence of the European Reformation, the church required midwives to notify them of all births. This requirement stemmed from an attempt to eliminate immorality and illegitimacy by persuading the mother to divulge the name of the father and if possible to legitimise the birth.
