Midwife regulation, education, and practice in The Netherlands during the nineteenth century.

Although within The Netherlands, there is a growing interest in the history of midwifery and its practitioners,2 publications in languages other than Dutch have been few and far between.3 Consequently, little is known internationally about the development of midwifery and obstetrics in Holland. In stark contrast, in other European countries and, more particularly, America, there is a large literature on midwifery and obstetrics, including studies by feminist historians, sociologists, and historians of the professions, as well as medical historians. It seems paradoxical that the United States, one of the nations where the role of the midwife has declined most significantly in the twentieth century, has also produced the largest number of major studies on midwifery and its practitioners;4 The Netherlands, recognized as one of the few wealthy Western countries where midwives still play a major role in childbirth, has produced little historical analysis.