With women excluded from higher education, female midwives were unable to gain formal qualifications. However, by the late 19th century things finally began to change. The Edinburgh School of Medicine for Women opened in 1886 and was attended by women working towards the Triple Qualification (TQ). The TQ had been established in 1884 by the Scottish Royal Medical Colleges, and this was the first time women had been permitted to study and qualify in medicine and surgery in Scotland, with Alice Ker being the first successful female candidate to pass the TQ in 1887. Scotland’s universities first allowed female students to study from 1892 and the first women to qualify with an MD did so at Glasgow University in 1894. Scotland's first maternity hospital staffed by women was set up by Elsie Inglis in 1901, which provided a place to gain experience and qualify in midwifery.
By this time there was already a shift in the identity of the midwife. As in many branches of medicine and surgery, specialist areas began to emerge. Obstetrics and gynaecology developed into the academic study of pregnancy, childbirth and diseases of the female reproductive system. The focus of midwifery returned to the care of women during pregnancy, childbirth and post birth. The Chair of Midwifery at the University of Edinburgh went through various modifications that reflected this change, before being renamed the Chair of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in 1946.
It was not until the early 20th century that the practice of midwifery in Scotland was fully regulated. The Midwives (Scotland) Act in 1915 enabled the set-up of the Central Midwives Board in Scotland (CMBS) to oversee training and examination. This legislation required the registration and certification of all midwives in Scotland and was crucial in raising their status as a distinct medical profession. The Royal College of Midwives originated in London in 1881 and now represents midwives across the UK as well as overseeing training, standards and legislation.
With childbirth now largely seen as a medical event, a lasting change has occurred in where babies are delivered. Before 1915 it is estimated that 95% of births took place in the home whereas today the vast majority of births now take place in hospitals.
