Introduction: Some types of maternity assistants have been working since ancient times, but midwifery is probably one of the oldest women's occupations. Older women with more experience were probably chosen for the midwife. Modern midwives are professionally educated labor assistants. Purpose: The purpose of the thesis is to outline the history of midwifery in the 20th century in Slovenia by presenting professional life of midwives, professional skills and knowledge and at the same time presenting the chosen example of the professional career of midwife Tilka Kramer. Methods of work:Two methods were used in the research. With the descriptive method, we examined the professional literature in the field of obstetrics and obstetrics history in Slovenia in the twentieth century, as well as the use midwifery logs, written testimonies of midwives and other documentary material. We also used a qualitative method of studying the case, which was carried out on the basis of an in-depth interview with selected Carinthian midwife Tilko Kramer and her personal documentary material. Results: Before the introduction of professional education for midwives, the midwife's mission was transmitted through female family relationships. Traditional learning with monitoring and attendance at childbirth began to change with professionalisation, that is, through the education of midwives, exams and the acquisition of licenses for midwifery. Mrs Tilka Kramer worked as a midwife for forty and a half years and belongs to the generation of midwives who in the middle of the twentieth century still acted as field midwives, and then their workplace moved to maternity hospitals and health centers. She gained her professional knowledge in the midwife's profession by studying in Ljubljana. During her schooling, she lived in a boarding school, where, in addition to practical and theoretical learning, she had to work hard. Before she could start acting as an independent midwife, she had to lead eighty births. The midwife and nurse's occupation was performed in Dravograd. Discussion and conclusion: Mrs Tilka Kramer highlights the importance of team work and cooperation with other health professionals. Because she met with several generations of women in the same family, it was particularly important to establish and maintain their trust. In order to realize the profession of a midwife in its fundamental sense - that is, as "working with a woman," it is necessary to adapt knowledge and skills to each individual woman and her child; which is a special challenge in the institutional framework.
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