Two Hundred Years of Midwifery 1806 – 2006

The Belfast Medical Society – a forerunner of the Ulster Medical Society – was founded in 1806. Following the Act of Union, in 1801, Ireland lost its own Parliament but Dublin remained the administrative capital of the country. Indeed, at that time, many regarded Dublin as the second city in the Empire. It was only natural that all the seats of learning – University and College – had been established there. Dublin University (Trinity College) had been granted a Royal Charter by Queen Elizabeth I in 1593. However, a medical school was not established in the college until 1711. 1 The College of Physicians in Ireland was granted its Charter by King Charles II in 1667. In the reign of William and Mary in 1692, it was granted another Charter which enabled it to grant licences in Medicine and Midwifery. The College of Surgeons was granted its Charter by King George III in 1784. It appointed its first Professor of Midwifery in 1785. It was not until 1828 that the College established a Diploma in Midwifery and one in Diseases of Women and Children. In 1745, a Charter was granted to the Society of Apothecaries which enabled its officers to control the manufacture and sales of medicines in Ireland. In 1837 a School of Medicine was established. In Wilson's Almanac of 1775 in Dublin there were 112 registered physicians and surgeons. 2 Only 12 were licensed to practise midwifery. In 1770, lectures in Midwifery for medical students and midwives had commenced in the Rotunda Hospital. There are no details of the content of either the lectures or the numbers who attended. Physicians were the only medical practitioners to have even a smattering of scientific training. Surgeons and apothecaries received their training as apprentices. Regulations as regards qualifications and the right to practise were rarely enforced.