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Placing your birth in a midwife's hands is a good option for most women. - There are three types of midwives: certified nurse midwives (CNM), licensed midwives and empirical midwives. CNMs have a nursing degree, plus additional midwifery training. Licensed midwives have attended a program that teaches about birth and how to oversee deliveries. Lay or empirical midwives aren't certified and usually have trained via apprenticeship under another experienced midwife.
- Benefits of using a midwife include lower cost of care, fewer interventions, faster recoveries and lower mortality rates of moms and babies. Midwives can't perform cesarean sections but are trained to know when one is necessary and usually partner with an obstetrician for this purpose.
- Uncomplicated pregnancies account for about 80 percent of all pregnancies, making midwives an ideal health care provider for most pregnant women. A midwife will refer a patient to an obstetrician if the woman's pregnancy is, or becomes, high risk.
- America has the highest infant mortality rate among developed nations. Most countries employ midwives for 75 percent of births, while women in the United States use midwives for 5 percent. According to a study undertaken by the Texas Department of Health, the infant mortality rate of patients delivered by physicians was 5.7 percent versus 1.9 percent, the mortality rate of infants delivered by midwives.
- CNMs are legal and require licensing in all 50 states. Certified midwives and lay midwives might be illegal in some states, making it more difficult to obtain the care of a midwife. See the Resources to find a midwife in your area.
