Where and when did some of the earliest laws regulating midwifery appear?

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Midwives assisting a birth while astrologers consult sky charts; woodcut relief print from Jakob Rueff's De conceptu et generatione hominis (1554; The Expert Midwife). — midwifery Midwives assisting a birth while astrologers consult sky charts; woodcut relief print from Jakob Rueff's *De conceptu et generatione hominis* (1554; *The Expert Midwife*).

Some of the earliest laws regulating the practice of midwifery appeared in 15th-century France. These initial regulations were instituted partly in an effort to curb what was then believed to be the practice of witchcraft among midwives.1

Subsequent legal frameworks shifted away from these concerns to focus exclusively on the practice itself. For example, in 17th-century London, midwives were required to be licensed by the Church of England. By the 19th century, additional licensing laws were introduced in countries such as Austria, Norway, and Sweden.1