# Nurses, Midwives and Health Visitors Act 1979, Section 17: Attendance by unqualified persons at childbirth.

Extent: E+W+S+N.I.

(1) A person other than a registered midwife of a registered medical practitioner shall not attend a woman in childbirth.
(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) Subsection (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.
(4) A person who contravenes subsection (1)[or (2)] shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine of not more than level 4 on the standard scale

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1979/36/section/17 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/nurses-midwives-and-health-visitors-act-1979/section-17
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.