--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We must always remember that we are only…" description: "\"“We must always remember that we are only midwives—if we want praise for progeny we must give birth to our own.”\" — Diana Athill" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ea/diana-athill-33371_birth_we-must-always-remember-that-we-are-only_648711.png" --- # We must always remember that we are only midwives—if we… ![“We must always remember that we are only midwives—if we want praise for progeny we must give birth to our own.” quote by Diana Athill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ea/diana-athill-33371_birth_we-must-always-remember-that-we-are-only_648711.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ea/diana-athill-33371_birth_we-must-always-remember-that-we-are-only_648711.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ea/diana-athill-33371_birth_we-must-always-remember-that-we-are-only_648711.png) > ““We must always remember that we are only midwives—if we want praise for progeny we must give birth to our own.”” [Diana Athill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-athill/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We must create our own legacy rather than rely on others' achievements. **In simple terms:** Create your own legacy. Key Takeaway Take responsibility for your own output. Themes self‑reliance creativity legacy Mood reflective determined Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career projects - artistic endeavors - personal development - entrepreneurship Key Concepts existentialism authorship individualism Questions to Reflect On - What legacy are you building? - How can you nurture your own ideas? A Different Perspective Relying on others can limit personal growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Birth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth/) [Midwives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/midwives/) ## Related quotes > [The footballers' wives I know, they're teachers, midwives. They want to do something useful. One is working at my son's nursery, on her hands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-nurding/the-footballers-wives-i-know-they-re-teachers-midwives-they-want-to/) [Louise Nurding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-nurding/) > [Midwives and doctors play a crucial role preventing unnecessary maternal deaths. They educate women about nutrition, health and family planning. And they step in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liya-kebede/midwives-and-doctors-play-a-crucial-role-preventing-unnecessary/) [Liya Kebede](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liya-kebede/) > [We midwives and physicians have a lot to teach each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ina-may-gaskin/we-midwives-and-physicians-have-a-lot-to-teach-each-other/) [Ina May Gaskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ina-may-gaskin/) > [“The old country midwives helped with the washing and household tasks and could always be paid with produce or later favours, but in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-palmer/the-old-country-midwives-helped-with-the-washing-and-household-tasks/) [Gabrielle Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-palmer/) > [During my high-risk pregnancy, I consistently experienced subpar care from my hospital, which led me to hire two midwives instead. They provided me with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrisse-cullors/during-my-high-risk-pregnancy-i-consistently-experienced-subpar-care/) [Patrisse Cullors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrisse-cullors/) > [Seeing what midwives do on a day-to-day basis - you really have this renewed respect for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-willis/seeing-what-midwives-do-on-a-day-to-day-basis-you-really-have-this/) [Emma Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-willis/) > [When you destroy midwives, you also destroy a body of knowledge that is shared by women, that can’t be put together by a bunch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ina-may-gaskin/when-you-destroy-midwives-you-also-destroy-a-body-of-knowledge-that/) [Ina May Gaskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ina-may-gaskin/) > [I think the thread running through most midwives is the passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sissy-spacek/i-think-the-thread-running-through-most-midwives-is-the-passion/) [Sissy Spacek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sissy-spacek/) > [“Many midwives work as employees in large hospital practices, where the techno-medical model of care is still the rule. In practices like these, midwives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ina-may-gaskin/many-midwives-work-as-employees-in-large-hospital-practices-where-the/) [Ina May Gaskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ina-may-gaskin/) > [“Today, the lay midwife is a response to a growing home-birth movement. In my own community most physicians have decided to withhold prenatal care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-mccutcheon/today-the-lay-midwife-is-a-response-to-a-growing-home-birth-movement/) Susan McCutcheon > [I had such a nurturing team of midwives looking after me with my first little girl, and their support gave me so much confidence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-piper/i-had-such-a-nurturing-team-of-midwives-looking-after-me-with-my/) [Katie Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-piper/) > [“Midwives do not fear life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-diamant/midwives-do-not-fear-life/) [Anita Diamant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-diamant/) > [It's not just the making of babies, but the making of mothers that midwives see as the miracle of birth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-katz-rothman/it-s-not-just-the-making-of-babies-but-the-making-of-mothers-that/) Barbara Katz Rothman > [Midwives not only save lives. They are also actors of social change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabella-lovin/midwives-not-only-save-lives-they-are-also-actors-of-social-change/) [Isabella Lovin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabella-lovin/) > [My wife and I would be very comfortable having a baby at home or using one of the terrific nurse-midwives at the hospital.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-bohjalian/my-wife-and-i-would-be-very-comfortable-having-a-baby-at-home-or/) [Chris Bohjalian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-bohjalian/) ## More by Diana Athill > [An important aspect of the ebbing of sex was that other things became interesting. Sex obliterates the individuality of young women more often than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-athill/an-important-aspect-of-the-ebbing-of-sex-was-that-other-things-became/) [Diana Athill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-athill/) > [“I am not sure that digging in our past guilts is a useful occupation for the very old, given that one can do so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-athill/i-am-not-sure-that-digging-in-our-past-guilts-is-a-useful-occupation/) [Diana Athill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-athill/) > [“To me it was plain silly. It is so obvious that life works in terms of species rather than individuals. The individual just has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-athill/to-me-it-was-plain-silly-it-is-so-obvious-that-life-works-in-terms-of/) [Diana Athill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-athill/) > [“She was an object lesson on the essential luck, whatever hardships may come their way, of those born able to make things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-athill/she-was-an-object-lesson-on-the-essential-luck-whatever-hardships-may/) [Diana Athill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-athill/) > [“Dwindling energy is one of the most boring things about being old. From time to time you get a day when it seems to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-athill/dwindling-energy-is-one-of-the-most-boring-things-about-being-old/) [Diana Athill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-athill/) > [The extension of power offered by a pony, the ease and speed of movement, the tapping of unsuspected courage, the satisfaction of collaboration with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-athill/the-extension-of-power-offered-by-a-pony-the-ease-and-speed-of/) [Diana Athill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-athill/) > [“All through my sixties I felt I was still within hailing distance of middle age, not safe on its shores, perhaps, but navigating its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-athill/all-through-my-sixties-i-felt-i-was-still-within-hailing-distance-of/) [Diana Athill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-athill/) > [“Generally office and home were far apart, and home was much more important than office. I was not ashamed of valuing my private life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-athill/generally-office-and-home-were-far-apart-and-home-was-much-more/) [Diana Athill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-athill/) > [You don't always have to go so far as to murder your darlings – those turns of phrase or images of which you felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-athill/you-don-t-always-have-to-go-so-far-as-to-murder-your-darlings-those/) [Diana Athill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-athill/) > [“I have heard people bewailing man's landing on the moon, as though before it was touched by an astronaut's foot it was made of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-athill/i-have-heard-people-bewailing-man-s-landing-on-the-moon-as-though/) [Diana Athill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-athill/) > [“How, then, does the written word work? What part of a reader absorbs it - or should that be a double question: what part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-athill/how-then-does-the-written-word-work-what-part-of-a-reader-absorbs-it/) [Diana Athill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-athill/) > [Writing shouldn't come between the reader and what's being described. It should be as transparent as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-athill/writing-shouldn-t-come-between-the-reader-and-what-s-being-described/) [Diana Athill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-athill/) > [Read it aloud to yourself because that's the only way to be sure the rhythms of the sentences are OK.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-athill/read-it-aloud-to-yourself-because-that-s-the-only-way-to-be-sure-the/) [Diana Athill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-athill/) > [“It was like removing layers of crumpled brown paper from an awkwardly shaped parcel, and revealing the attractive present which it contained.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-athill/it-was-like-removing-layers-of-crumpled-brown-paper-from-an-awkwardly/) [Diana Athill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-athill/) [Explore all 15 Diana Athill quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-athill/) ## More Birth quotes > [“Conception is the beginning of human life. From the time that an ovum is fertilized a new life begins that is neither that of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/declaration-on-procured-abortion-congregation-for-the-doctrine-of-the-faith-1974/conception-is-the-beginning-of-human-life-from-the-time-that-an-ovum/) Declaration on Procured Abortion Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith 1974 > [In the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another day just like today, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/in-the-entire-history-of-the-universe-let-alone-in-your-own-history/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [The greatest mystery in life is not life itself, but death. Death is the culmination of life, the ultimate blossoming of life. In death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/the-greatest-mystery-in-life-is-not-life-itself-but-death-death-is/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Guns have little or nothing to do with juvenile violence. The causes of youth violence are working parents who put their kids into daycare,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-delay/guns-have-little-or-nothing-to-do-with-juvenile-violence-the-causes/) [Tom DeLay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-delay/) > [“Every child is born as angel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/every-child-is-born-as-angel/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Nirvana is a word that means enlightenment, being beyond the illusion of birth and death, the illusion of pain, the illusion of love, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/nirvana-is-a-word-that-means-enlightenment-being-beyond-the-illusion/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [It was no accident, no coincidence, that the seasons came round and round year after year. It was the Lord speaking to us all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-rivers/it-was-no-accident-no-coincidence-that-the-seasons-came-round-and/) [Francine Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-rivers/) > [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) > [There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. And there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kuyper/there-are-two-kinds-of-beauty-there-is-a-beauty-which-god-gives-at/) [Abraham Kuyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kuyper/) > [Always keep the smile, because the smile is the beginning of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-imad/always-keep-the-smile-because-the-smile-is-the-beginning-of-love/) Adam Imad > [The wailing of the newborn infant is mingled with the dirge for the dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucretius/the-wailing-of-the-newborn-infant-is-mingled-with-the-dirge-for-the/) [Lucretius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucretius/) > [I gave birth to most of them MC's... So when it comes around to the month of May, Send me your royalty check for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxanne-shante/i-gave-birth-to-most-of-them-mc-s-so-when-it-comes-around-to-the/) Roxanne Shante > [“A Beautiful verse takes birth when "U"n"I" VERSE.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajesh-walecha/a-beautiful-verse-takes-birth-when-u-n-i-verse/) [Rajesh Walecha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajesh-walecha/) > [“There is no born evil, only a corruptible canvas darkened by a formidable perpetrator.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yefon-isabelle/there-is-no-born-evil-only-a-corruptible-canvas-darkened-by-a/) [Yefon Isabelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yefon-isabelle/) > [I've always thought that the most extraordinary special effect you could do is to buy a child at the moment of its birth, sit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/i-ve-always-thought-that-the-most-extraordinary-special-effect-you/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) [Browse all 6,183 Birth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We must always remember that we are only midwives—if we want praise for progeny we must give birth to our own.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Diana Athill" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-athill/we-must-always-remember-that-we-are-only-midwives-if-we-want-praise/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Birth" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-athill/we-must-always-remember-that-we-are-only-midwives-if-we-want-praise/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ea/diana-athill-33371_birth_we-must-always-remember-that-we-are-only_648711.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ea/diana-athill-33371_birth_we-must-always-remember-that-we-are-only_648711.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ea/diana-athill-33371_birth_we-must-always-remember-that-we-are-only_648711.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We must always remember that we are only midwives—if we want praise for progeny we must give birth to our own.” — Diana Athill", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Diana Athill", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-athill/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“We must always remember that we...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-athill/we-must-always-remember-that-we-are-only-midwives-if-we-want-praise/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-athill/we-must-always-remember-that-we-are-only-midwives-if-we-want-praise/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```