Midwifery & Childbirth Information
Mid-wife (mid-wîf):
From Middle English "mid"+"wif", meaning "with woman"
A woman who assists other women in childbirth.
tudies by the World Health Organization and the American Medical Association * have proven repeatedly that home birth with trained attendants is as safe or safer than hospital births for health women experiencing normal pregnancies. Birth is a normal physiological process, and more than 90% of the time medical intervention is not needed. In every nation of the world with safer birth outcomes than the Unites States (we currently rank 22nd), midwives care for 75% or more of all birthing women. 
Whether called "sage femme" (French: wise woman), "hebamme" (German: nurser bee), or "jordemoder" (Danish: earth mother), the midwife has, since the dawn of time, attended other women during the childbirth process. Specializing in one-to-one care, she has been called the 'nurturer of the normal.' Today, midwives provide care in a variety of settings and are trained to care for women before, during, after and between pregnancies. And, while trained to care for healthy women and normal pregnancies, they are also able to detect any deviation from normal and either gently guide mother and baby back to normal health or refer them to the appropriate health care provider.
irth is one of the most intense, intimate moments in a woman's life. Where better to be than the familiar comfort of home? At home, one is free to eat, drink, walk around as assume any position that one finds comfortable. The mother is attended only by those whom she has grown to know and trust, and the midwives monitor her and her baby in a gentle and unobtrusive manner. There are no changes of shift or personnel; no timetables; no restrictive I.V. needles, tubes, belts or electric leads to inhibit movement. The mother may invite family members, supportive friends or her older children to participate in the labor and delivery if she desires. The only timetable is the mother's own internal clock which knows infinitely well how labor should proceed for her and her baby. And because the mother is familiar with the natural organisms of her own home, and has passed those immunities to her child in utero, there is less chance of infection for either mother or baby at home.
*Journal of Reproductive Medicine, 1977, vol. 19, pp. 281-290
*Journal of the American Medical Association, 12/80, vol. 244
*Journal of the American Medical Association, 3/85, vol. 253 #11
*World Health Organization, The Lancet 1985, pp. 436-437
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