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Information & History
Information about licensed midwives:
Licensed midwives have been practicing throughout the U.S. since
the 1920s. They provide primary health care to women of all ages, from puberty,
through childbearing, and beyond into the menopausal years.
Licensed midwives provide personalized care during a woman's
pregnancy. The focus is on education so that women can take a more active role
in maintaining a healthy pregnancy. Licensed midwives attend women during labor and
birth and are trained and experienced in prenatal, postpartum and normal newborn
care. Licensed midwives practice in many settings, including home, birth center and
hospital.
In addition to maternity care, licensed midwives provide primary
health care to women. This includes gynecological care, breast examinations, Pap
smears, family planning and even hormone replacement therapy for menopausal
women. Licensed midwives provide care that meets the unique physical, spiritual and
social needs of women.
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Licensed midwives during Labor:
Licensed midwives support your choices for labor and birth and provide low tech
care which includes many options. From wearing your own clothing, to laboring
and giving birth in any position, even having light intake of food and drink
while in labor. IVs and continuous monitoring are not routine in many practices
and can be avoided if desired, unless deemed medically necessary. Licensed midwives
have prescriptive privileges and can provide medication as needed during labor.
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Little Known Facts About Childbirth
 | Three out of every four Americans becomes a parent.
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| Childbirth comprises 1/5th of all health care expenditures in the U.S.
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| The U.S. spends more per birth than any other country, and yet, has one of
the highest rates of infant mortality in the industrialized world.
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| African American Babies are two to three times more likely to die in
childbirth than their white counterparts. The mortality rate for African
American mothers is four times higher than for whites. |
| Today more than one out of every five U.S. babies (26.1%)
is born by cesarean section, despite the 15% benchmark set by the Center
for Disease Control (CDC) in 1990.
CDC Fast Stats |
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The rate of induction of labor
increased slightly for 2002 to 20.6
percent, more than double the 1989 level (9 percent).
The rate of cesarean delivery
increased 7 percent to 26.1 percent of
all births from 2001 to 2002, the highest rate ever reported in the United
States. The cesarean rate fell between 1989 and 1996, but has risen 26
percent since 1996. The escalation in the total cesarean rate is fueled by
both the rise in the primary cesarean rate and the steep decline in
the rate of vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) delivery. The
primary rate rose 7 percent in 2002, and the rate of VBAC delivery plunged
23 percent. CDC 2002 updates. |
| Well over half of all American births involve some type
of surgical or operative procedure cesarean section, episiotomy, vacuum
extraction, and forceps. |
| A 1998 CDC study concluded that midwives cost less than physicians and
have at least as good, if not better outcomes for low-risk women. In Western
countries with better infant outcomes, midwives catch over 70% of babies. Here
in the U.S., midwives attend only 11% of all births.
New Study Show Lower Mortality Rates for Infants
Delivered By Licensed Midwives |
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