Physician delegation of responsibilities to midwives

Due to professional independence of both midwifes and physicians, the obligation of mutual assistance in normal and pathological births generates conflicts and uncertanties between those two professionals. Although the legal framework seems to be clear, in practice cooperation is often jeopardized by ignoring or simply not knowing the according limits of responsibility. The principles of defining the field of midwifery as well as the criteria for allocating physicians duties and responsibilities in line with legal regulations are discussed in the article.