This year is the centenary year of the Royal College of Midwives - a glorious past, but is there a future for the modern midwife? As 98 per cent of all births now take place in hospital, where the midwife works only as part of a team, individual job satisfaction has declined and there is also serious understaffing in the profession. Is the answer increased pay, or does the whole role of the midwife within the NHS need examining and redefining?
Jenni Mills spent a day with the Community Midwives at King's
College Hospital, London. Producer FRANCES DONNELLY long wave only