What is a midwife? A survey of pregnant women in Abu Dhabi.

Evidence suggests that, throughout the world, there is a lack of understanding of the midwife's role. It has previously been found that most pregnant women in Dubai did not understand the role of the midwife and felt safer being cared for by doctors This paper presents findings from a survey conducted in Abu Dhabi, where midwifery is well established, which sought to explore whether the role of the midwife is generally acknowledged and understood. Overall a lack of knowledge of the role and scope of practice of the midwife was evident amongst a third of respondents. Since midwifery care has been shown to provide high quality maternity care, marketing and promoting the role of the midwife both to service users and to other professionals is crucial.