A midwife is Latin for 'she who stands before the mother' — 'obstetrics' shares a root with 'obstacle.'
The branch of medicine and surgery concerned with childbirth and the care of women giving birth.
From Latin obstetrīx (midwife), formed from obstāre (to stand before, to stand in front of) + the feminine agent suffix -trīx. Obstāre is ob- (before, in front of, toward) + stāre (to stand), from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (to stand, to be firm). The midwife was literally the one who stands before — positioned in front of the labouring woman to receive the child and manage the birth. The field
An 'obstetrician' and an 'obstacle' share the same root — Latin 'obstāre' (to stand before). The midwife stands before the mother to help; an obstacle stands before you to block. Same position, opposite intention. And 'obstinate' (stubbornly standing firm) completes the trio: standing before, standing in the