Since 2012 the German birth rate has been increasing. In 2014 the Huffington Post reported petitions circulating to warn the public about the threat to the midwifery profession. They called on expectant families to put pressure on the German government’s health minister to come up with a solution to the massive increases in insurance rates on midwives, especially those who assist in birth. The July 2017 German Intercessors newsletter requests prayer for midwives’ working conditions. ‘Anyone looking for a midwife before childbirth must expect many refusals. More and more freelance midwives are leaving the profession. They cannot afford the unbelievably high contributions for personal liability insurance, even though subsidies are now provided by the state.’ The midwife association is asking for a fund to cover liabilities for self-employed midwives. Full-time salaried midwives have another problem; their working conditions allow them no time to rest.