Editing Midwifery (section)

===Early Modern history===

Midwives were usually older, married or widowed women with their own grown children. However, this was not an absolute, but a commonly recognized pattern.  Many midwives were teenagers or unmarried. Throughout the seventeenth century, the literacy of English midwives was quite high, usually surpassing the clientele base they served. By 1634, most English midwives in London could read, which is important since many of them may not have been able to write, only leaving a simple mark as their signature. By the 1660s, country midwives also had high literacy rates which was remarkable considering female literacy was very low during this period.<ref>Wilson, Adrian. Making of man-midwifery: Childbirth in England, 1660-1770. U.C.L. P, 1994. Page 30.</ref>