Reproductive health is an area of specialization that throughout history has been in the almost exclusive purview of women. While it is unclear when "Midwife" became an occupation, they are referenced in many cultures, even making an appearance in the first book of The Bible. Most likely, professionals were focused in population centers for simple economic reasons. Texts were produced for the Greek or Roman Professional Midwife from the Third Century BCE up to the Sixth Century AD dealing with obstetrics any gynecology. These women were not only literate, but up to date on current medical philosophies (though these were relatively frightening, based on today's standards). When these urban communities disappeared in Europe with the fall of the Roman Empire, this brand of Midwife disappeared with them. With the descent into the "Dark Ages," the title of midwife often fell to the most experienced woman on hand. In small towns this might be the eldest of the community or the woman who had birthed the most children. Family or servants might act as midwives, especially in the case where no trouble was expected during the birth. The development, or reemergence, of the professional midwife in Medieval Europe was gradual and progressed at varying rates from region to region. When it did developed a profession, the skills were often passed down from master to apprentice over a period of years, like many other trades, but without formal written agreements. Other medical practitioners could also impart the requisite knowledge and training to to the initiate. The only requirement for candidacy seems to have been a recommendation from the local priest that the woman wishing to become a midwife be of strong moral character. Whoever was handling the delivery, the birthing bed was solely the province of women during this period in time.
The majority of Medieval midwifes seem to have practiced natural and 'common sense' methods of aiding births. Pepper might be used to cause the patient to sneeze, thereby inducing labor. Various herbal remedies might be used to soothe the patient. The midwife would wash the mother, then use butter or oils to aid in lubrication and stretching of the perineal area. Delivered children would first be cleansed with water and then salt to dry the humors. Honey might be applied to the gums of the child to encourage hunger. The health of the newborn was also the province of the midwife, why might apply oils or unguents thought to be beneficial. Some midwives dealt in 'magic,' providing charms to aid in conception or to ease childbirth (though the extent to which they were persecuted as witches is debated).
Trotula was a practicing midwife in 11th Century Italy, who quite literally "wrote the book" for her profession. Medieval Woman's Guide to Health covers abnormal birth presentations, Cesarian procedures, delivery techniques, herbal remedies and more. Though she may have worked in the field previously, she studied and refined her work in the medical school of Salerno and helped to define her specialty as a separate discipline within medicine. While widely read in Southern Europe at the time, it seems to have not infiltrated the North until later.
Under the Church, midwives took on additional roles. They would bring the children to the church for baptism. It was their responsibility to question the mother during labor as to the parentage of the child in the case of illegitimate births. They could also stand as witnesses in cases regarding infanticide related to premature births. When the newborn was in danger, they could perform an emergency baptism. If it became clear that a mother was to die, it was the midwife's responsibility to send for a doctor to perform a c-section to remove the fetus for baptism.
It is important to note that not all female medical practitioners in the Middle Ages were midwives. Women also served as physicians, empirics (or Matrons: kind of like the local 'wise women'), surgeons/barbers, apothecaries, and nurses. It wasn't until the establishment of Universities around the 13th Century, that women were pushed out of the doctors' ranks. The strength of the Surgeons' and Barbers' Guilds allowed women to hold those positions for a while longer against state restrictions. As physicians became formally trained and licensed in the Late Middle Ages, they took over are of gynecology, reducing the role of the midwife to aiding primarily in delivery.
women in medieval medicine - http://www.maggietron.com/med/women.php
Middle Ages and Renaissance - http://www.gallowglass.org/jadwiga/herbs/WomenMed.html
detailed encyclopedia entry - http://cw.routledge.com/ref/middleages/women/midwives.html
professional paper - http://courses.washington.edu/hsteu305/Greilsammer%20Midwives.pdf
Professionalization of Midwifery - http://ojs.library.ubc.ca/index.php/cjmrp/article/viewFile/1993/1969
check pg 108 and on - http://books.google.com/books?id=VPDqnGGHpHYC&pg=PA109&lpg=PA109&dq=medieval+midwife&source=bl&ots=UqOiEo_fGP&sig=YmF-AqGhQkuABZ_p0q18jRpfGSw&hl=en&sa=X&ei=pAAhU42CMMWkkQesmIH4Dw&ved=0CEcQ6AEwAjgo#v=onepage&q=medieval%20midwife&f=false
Representation in Spanish Literature pg 98 - http://books.google.com/books?id=IjjAV7G4iJwC&pg=PA98&lpg=PA98&dq=medieval+midwife&source=bl&ots=mXtyuxgc91&sig=uwW9MOaGiE9dLCn2T44CF7ZMZZw&hl=en&sa=X&ei=TQEhU7LONIrpkAeznIHwAQ&ved=0CFEQ6AEwAzgy#v=onepage&q=medieval%20midwife&f=false
Trial of a midwife 1403 - http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2808%2961467-1/fulltext
(1400-1800) - http://www.hsj.gr/volume5/issue1/515.pdf
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