Miscellaneous provisions about midwifery
17 Attendance by unqualified persons at childbirth.
(1)
A person other than a registered midwife of a registered medical practitioner shall not attend a woman in childbirth.
F1(2)
Until the day appointed by the Secretary of State by an order under paragraph 3(1) of Schedule 4 to the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, a man who is a registered midwife shall not attend a woman in childbirth except in a place approved in writing by or on behalf of the Secretary of State.
(3)
F2Subsection (1) does not apply—
(a)
where the attention is given in a case of sudden or urgent necessity; or
(b)
in the case of a person who, while undergoing training with a view to becoming a medical practitioner or to becoming a midwife, attends a woman in childbirth as part of a course of practical instruction in midwifery recognised by the General Medical Council or one of the National Boards.