Midwives were involved with births from all social classes to various degrees. The poorest women were typically helped by the women in their family and their neighbors more than the midwives from the towns. In towns, government compensated midwives with "tax exempt status or a small pension" for their service within the community.[1] This compensation placed a lot of emphasis on a midwife's reputation.[2] Beginning in the early fourteenth century, town officials started recording some midwife activities in municipal account books; for example, Greilsammer cites a 1312 record from Bruges stating "Communal expenses – Item, by Copp.