Adcock, Winifred, Bayliss, Ursula, Butler, Sr Marietta, Hayes, Pamela, Woolston, Hazel, and Sparrow, Patricia. (1984). With courage and devotion: A history of midwifery in New South Wales. NSW Midwives Association.

Dictionaries define history as a ‘record of events’… ‘a systematic account of natural phenomena’. There is nothing more natural than birth and no event more worthy of being recorded. To this end a small group of midwives, members of the NSW Midwives Association (RANF) compiled this short history of midwifery in our State. Whilst collecting material we became aware of the courage and devotion which had been the tradition of the ‘midwife’ in NSW, be it the Aboriginal woman being helped by the women of her family, the convict helping her fellow convict, or the ‘Granny’ going to the aid of her neighbour. From the Dreamtime to the present day, the content depicts the loneliness and hardships experienced by the mother and her helper, the resourcefulness of the early pioneers and the flexibility of the modern midwife who is as comfortable working in isolation in the outback as she is joining the obstetric team in high technology units. It is hoped that this book will be read with pride by midwives and with pleasure by all who have been involved in any way in the ‘birthing process’. – Preface