Midwives
In Europe, midwives assist at more than 70% of normal vaginal births. Though midwives assisted at only 8% of American babies in 2006, that percentage has been slowly increasing. But most Americans aren’t sure what midwives do, how they’re trained, or if they’re even available.
The word “midwife” comes from Old English and means “with woman.” Midwives have helped women give birth to their babies since the beginning of time. A midwife’s education stresses that pregnancy and birth are normal, healthy events until proven otherwise. Midwives view their role as supporting the pregnant woman while letting nature takes its course. Midwives also focus on the psychological aspects of how the mother-to-be feels about her pregnancy and the actual birth experience. They encourage women to trust their own instincts and seek the information they need to make their own valuable decisions about pregnancy, birth, and parenthood. Physicians, in spite of their advanced training and surgical specialties, have never been proven to be better childbirth attendants than midwives.
In testimony before the U.S. Commission to Prevent Infant Mortality, Marsden Wagner MD, (former) Director of the World Health Organization, suggested the need in the U.S. for a “strong independent midwifery profession as a counterbalance to the obstetrical profession in preventing excessive interventions in the normal birth process.” Wagner stated that in Europe midwives far outnumber physicians: “In no European country do obstetricians provide the primary health care for most women with normal pregnancy and birth.” He pointed out that the U.S. has the highest obstetrical intervention rates as well as a serious problem with malpractice suits and concludes that a strong, independent midwifery service in the U.S. would be a most important counterbalance to the present situation. Understanding the potential danger in the overuse of childbirth technology, the World Health Organization has repeatedly implored the U.S. medical authorities to return to a midwife-based system of maternity care as one way to help reduce our scandalously high mortality rates.
Wondering if a midwife is right for you? Here are some resources for your consideration:
http://www.planetc1.com/cgi-bin/n/v.cgi?c=1&id=1152244116