Midwifery is the skill and the work of a midwife: helping a mother through pregnancy, birth, and the days just after. The midwife is the person; midwifery is the job, the training, and the craft. You study midwifery, you practise midwifery, a hospital has a midwifery ward. Though actually a lot of the work is not the birth itself. It is watching, teaching, calming, and knowing when to call a doctor. In many countries this is a full profession with exams and a licence, not only a kind neighbour who has seen a few births. The word is calm and a little official. In everyday talk people more often just say, “She’s a midwife.”