Midwife Attended Births Double since 1990

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Monday, July 17, 2006

There was a good Associated Press article last month that I somehow managed to miss. It talked about the growing interest in midwife attended birth and in home births and cited the fact that the number of midwife attended births has doubled since 1990.

In 2003, the most recent year for which stats are available, 8% of births were attended by midwives. In fact, attendence by CNMs has risen every year since 1975.

From the article:

But choosing a midwife is about more than merely selecting a care provider or deciding between birth at a hospital or home. It represents a paradigm shift in how a woman approaches pregnancy, some in the field say. Although certified nurse midwives are licensed to administer medication, they generally encourage a drug-free birth and rely primarily on natural methods of care.

At the core, it's a rejection of the quintessential birth scene: the pregnant woman lying in a single bed, a nurse at the ready with a pain-relieving epidural shot and a hospital room full of people yelling, "Push!"

Labels: Childbirth Issues, Stats and Studies

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