Midwifery is a profession bound by law and the midwife is a professional who, by offering a service, is accountable in law to a client. The midwife is commonly an employee and, therefore, also affected by employment law, or the midwife may also be an employer or self-employed in independent practice. This book describes the legal background to these themes, placing them within the context of midwifery practice and highlighting any current debate surrounding them. As well as outlining the law, an explanation of the structure and sources of the law is provides, with particular emphasis on its application to midwifery. Midwives should find this book equips them with the knowledge and understanding they require to make sense of the legal principles that affect their day-to-day work. It should allay the anxieties that midwives express about the constraints that they see the law imposing upon them, encouraging them to extend and develop their practice safelty and with confidence.