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A MIDWIFE’S CODE
of PRACTICE

No 1. — Midwife/Doctor Relationship

The Midwives Act, 1951, give statutory recognition to the position of the midwife as a professional practitioners in her own right.

The Board consider the responsibilities of the doctor and the midwife are so inter-related and complementary that the necessary degree of cooperation can only be ensured by a mutual recognition of their respective professional positions.

The conditions vary widely in the midwives practise, whether the confinement takes place in the home, in hospital or elsewhere. In the great majority of cases a registered medical practitioner is concerned to some degree, but the Board find it impracticable in widely varying circumstances to define the professional relationship of practising midwives with registered medical practitioners. They consider it desirable, however, to indicate certain principles which midwives should follow in their professional relationship with doctors.