Have you heard about Salome and Zebel, the two legendary midwives at Jesus’ nativity?
They arrived too late at the Bethlehem stable - Mary had given birth to Jesus alone. Zebel was an instant believer that the Messiah had come, but her colleague, Salome, wasn’t so sure. She decided to examine Mary, as any professional midwife would, and suffered instant, painful punishment. Then she was healed in Jesus’ first miracle.
This strange, disturbing tale, once well known but now often forgotten, was told in the second-century Legend of the Doubting Midwife. Salome became a cult figure and later a saint - the most famous midwife ever. And ever since, her story has inspired artists, poets, preachers, playwrights, musicians and story-tellers.
The nativity midwives pose highly topical questions about representations of women, and who gets to tell or suppress our stories. Art historians have described them as handmaidens, shepherdesses, bystanders, onlookers, lowly figures, decoration and ‘unnamed women’. Yet another case of the invisible woman! Angered by this neglect, I transformed my interesting hobby into a passionate cause, as related in my two latest books. Join me on my adventures, as I track the nativity midwives through the art galleries, churches and palaces of Europe and beyond.
Midwives were once familiar figures in every community, and still are in many places, especially among remote, rural and impoverished populations. But the profession is in crisis today. The ancient art of midwifery – the world’s oldest profession - is in decline as Caesarian sections become routine rather than emergencies, and the midwife’s skills and knowledge are sidelined. Unsurprisingly, midfwery recruitment is falling - the International Confederation of Midwives says the world needs one million more midwives.
My books draw on my experiences as an international nursing and midwifery consultant, teacher and writer. Rooted in my practice, scholarship and advocacy in the UK and worldwide, they resonate with the challenges women worldwide face every day as mothers, leaders and midwives.
The Midwives’ Gospel: the forgotten women at the birth of Jesus
This full-length illustrated e-book takes you on an adventure through the art galleries, palaces and churches of Europe and beyond. It tells a compelling, strange tale of human action and divine intervention from a unique and surprising angle, blending history, art, fable and memoir. I pose highly topical questions about representations of women – who gets to tell or suppress our stories? And it resonates with the challenges women worldwide face today as mothers, midwives and leaders.
Â
The Midwife’s Book of Hours
This 90-page companion volume is a beautifully designed and lavishly illustrated hardback. It takes its name and inspiration from the illuminated prayer books produced in their thousands in Europe in the Middle Ages.
Hardback, 100pp
210 x 165 mm
1 February 2026
ISBN: 9781804472057
£20