Pregnant women decide
Midwives and doctors are equally qualified to provide antenatal care for pregnant women.
The woman decides when to see which specialist.
The right to self-determination regarding one’s own health, and thus the right to choose where to seek care as the woman sees fit, is enshrined in Article 2(2) of the Basic Law. A woman is therefore free to choose, at her own discretion and for her own well-being, to sit in one chair one time and another the next.
The professional regulations governing midwifery, at both national and European level, stipulate that midwives are qualified to support a pregnant woman from the start of her pregnancy through to the end of the breastfeeding period.
The midwife also has a professional duty and obligation to refer a pregnant woman to a doctor if the pregnancy is not progressing normally.
Doctors are permitted to provide antenatal care. However in Germany they are required to call in a midwife for the birth. This also applies to hospital births and even to the presence of a midwife during a caesarean section.
10/2026