Modern midwifery seen through the historic lens of ‘Call the Midwife’

By Katie Moriarty PhD, CNM, CAFCI

Reflecting on the International Day of the Midwife, which was commemorated on May 5, it occurred to me that “Call the Midwife,” the outstanding PBS series, has done a great job to project the role of midwifery in maternal public health through a historic context. Our weekly visits to the East End of London calls to mind areas of Detroit, Inkster, and other low income communities in our region. The universal truth of midwifery is as evident in this series as it is in the work of modern midwives, hence our blog, “Call the Modern Midwife,” which is a companion to the PBS series.

Thank you to Call the Midwife for showcasing the lives that midwives lead and depicting the fantastic stories of happiness, heartbreak, faith, and friendship that come along with being in this amazing profession!  I have often said that being a midwife is really a calling more than a profession and each week as I follow the episodes that perception is further solidified.

Birth is a common miracle. It is an honor to bear witness as it unfolds.  As midwives, we try to empower women through this life event and enter their lives in real and tangible ways.  Whenever I hear that someone has had a baby—my mind always drifts to wanting to know their birth story.  Everyone gets to this world through their own unique birth story, whether it is known to them or not.  As a midwife we like for our births to be ‘uncomplicated’—but that is not always the case.  So hats off to all the midwives in the world—we get to walk this path with women and we can almost always be guaranteed a raw, intimate, and exhilarating day (or night).

International Day of the Midwife offers us a chance to reflect on all the women who have served as midwives in the past, those who are called to this service today, and those who are preparing to walk this path in the future—and therein lies the unbelievable power.

Katie Moriarty PhD., CNM, CAFCI, is director of the Detroit Nurse-Family Partnership and a contributing writer for the blog, Call the Modern Midwife, a companion to the PBS series Call the Midwife.