It regulated the profession of midwifery, requiring certification for midwives and providing a penalty for any woman practising midwifery without certification, with the exception of legally qualified medical practitioners or those giving assistance in emergencies.

The Act established a Central Midwives Board, which would regulate the issue of certificates and keep a central register of midwives, as well as regulating any courses of training or examinations, providing a means for the suspension of practitioners, and generally supervising the effective running of the profession.

Any woman certified under the Act was to notify her local supervisory authority of her intention to practice each year, on penalty of a fine for any failure to submit a notification or any omission of information on it.

Any false representations to obtain a certificate, or any attempts to falsify an entry on the roll of midwives, were a misdemeanour, to be penalised by imprisonment for up to a year with or without hard labour.

Subsequent Acts of Parliament regulating midwifery were subsumed by the Health Act 1999, which delegated powers to regulate medical professions to the Secretary of State for Health by statutory instrument or order in council.