Midwife in the context of "Scope of practice"

Unsafe abortions are defined as procedures for terminating a pregnancy that are “performed by persons lacking the necessary information or skills, in an environment lacking minimal medical standards, or both.” These include self-induced abortions, abortions in unhygienic conditions, and abortions performed by medical practitioners who do not provide appropriate post-abortion attention. About 45% of the 73 million abortions each year are considered unsafe, amounting to about 33 million unsafe abortions.

Most (97%) unsafe abortions occur in the developing world, where modern birth control is not readily available, and affordable, well-trained medical practitioners are scarce, and abortion is often illegal, with the more restrictive the law, the higher the rates of death and other complications.

Sex assignment (also known as gender assignment) is the discernment of an infant's sex, typically made at birth based on an examination of the newborn's external genitalia by a healthcare provider such as a midwife, nurse, or physician. In the vast majority of cases (99.95%), sex is assigned unambiguously at birth. However, in about 1 in 2000 births, the baby's genitals may not clearly indicate male or female, necessitating additional diagnostic steps, and deferring sex assignment.

In most countries the healthcare provider's determination, along with other details of the birth, is by law recorded on an official document and submitted to the government for later issuance of a birth certificate and for other legal purposes.

A health professional, healthcare professional (HCP), or healthcare worker (sometimes abbreviated as HCW) is a provider of health care treatment and advice based on formal training and experience. The field includes those who work as a nurse, physician (such as family physician, internist, obstetrician, psychiatrist, radiologist, surgeon etc.), perfusionist, physician assistant, registered dietitian, veterinarian, veterinary technician, optometrist, pharmacist, pharmacy technician, medical assistant, physical therapist, occupational therapist, dentist, midwife, psychologist, audiologist, or healthcare scientist, or who perform services in allied health professions. Experts in public health and community health are also health professionals.

Midwifery is the health science and health profession that deals with pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period (including care of the newborn), in addition to the sexual and reproductive health of women throughout their lives. In many countries, midwifery is a medical profession (special for its independent and direct specialized education; should not be confused with the medical specialty, which depends on a previous general training). A professional in midwifery is known as a midwife.

A 2015 Cochrane review concluded that "most women should be offered midwifery-led continuity models of care and women should be encouraged to ask for this option although caution should be exercised in applying this advice to women with substantial medical or obstetric complications." The review found that midwifery-led care was associated with a reduction in the use of epidurals, with fewer episiotomies or instrumental births, and a decreased risk of losing the baby before 24 weeks' gestation. However, midwifery-led care was also associated with a longer mean length of labor as measured in hours.

A home birth is a birth that takes place in a residence rather than in a hospital or a birthing center. They may be attended by a midwife, or lay attendant with experience in managing home births. Home birth was, until the advent of modern medicine, the de facto method of delivery. The term was coined in the middle of the 19th century as births began to take place in hospitals.

Multiple studies have been performed concerning the safety of home births for both the child and the mother. Standard practices, licensing requirements and access to emergency hospital care differ between regions making it difficult to compare studies across national borders. A 2014 US survey of medical studies found that perinatal mortality rates were triple that of hospital births, and a US nationwide study of over 13 million births on a 3-year span (2007–2010) found that births at home were roughly 10 times as likely to be stillborn (14 times in first-born babies) and almost four times as likely to have neonatal seizures or serious neurological dysfunction when compared to babies born in hospitals. Alternatively, there is research coming out that suggests that there is actually no significant difference in perinatal mortality rates between home and hospital birth and some even suggest that there are benefits such as less complications and fewer interventions. Higher maternal and infant mortality rates are associated with the inability to offer timely assistance to mothers with emergency procedures in case of complications during labour, as well as with widely varying licensing and training standards for birth attendants between different states and countries.