Pregnant women decide
Midwives and doctors are equally qualified to provide antenatal care for pregnant women.
The woman decides when to see which specialist.
Foto Yvonne Piehler
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
German Constitution. A woman is therefore free to choose, at her own discretion and own well-being, to sit in one chair one time and on the other chair the next time.
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 responsability and obligation to refer a pregnant woman to a doctor if the pregnancy is not progressing normally.
Doctors are permitted to provide antenatal care for pregnant women, however, they are required to call in a midwife for the birth of the baby. This also applies to
hospital births, and even for caesarean sections the presence of a midwife is mandatory.
06/2026
