WHY WOMEN NEED<br >MIDWIVES<br >SHEILA KITZINGER<br >In childbirth today the obstetrician usually stands centre-stage.<br >The midwife is invisible. Yet historically， ever since the first<br >recorded accounts of birth， and in countries all over the world，<br >midwives have had the main responsibility for giving care<br >before， during and after a baby is born， and in many societies<br >today the health of most mothers and newborn babies still<br >depends on midwives. Midwives are the experts in normal<br >childbirth， and in giving care which prevents the development of<br >the abnormal.<br > The midwife shares the experience with the woman giving<br >birth. She is literally mid or with her in an empathic， intimate<br >relationship ( midwife comes from the Anglo-Saxon literally<br >meaning with woman )， while the obstetrician stands in front<br >of the woman. The midwife is also the wise woman， the sage<br >femme who understands women s rhythms and the mysteries of<br >birth and death. Two thousand five hundred years ago， the Tao<br >Te Ching described the role of the midwife thus:<br ><br >