Hi from Michigan

[MerrieMelodyxx]

Midwife usually means a person who assists in the delivery of babies. I guess she must be in training

I know what a midwife is but I didn't know that they are still around

What so babies magically deliver themselves?

Well, Bill Cosby wasn't a midwife, was he? I really thought that the medical profession had done away with them - burned them all, in fact, at Salem. I should probably keep quiet from this point on. :idea:

I'll assume Daystar that you live in the United States, eh? Most babies here are delivered in a hospital setting with an OB as the attending. OBs are also surgical practitioners, and so maternal outcomes tend to reflect that. Midwives are (in my very biased opinion) a more appropriate response to birth, when a woman is classed as low-risk (not higher order multiples, good health, not "advanced maternal age", etc.). It tends to be cheaper, have better outcomes and lead to less surgical intervention.

The real reason to go with a hospital and an OB, if you're high risk, is to have immediate access to a cesarean; most hospitals do not have the ability to move immediately from delivery and labor to an operation procedure, either through lack of appropriate staffing (in-house anesthesiologist 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, OB in-house) or lack of technology (inability to prep for surgery, lack of level 1 trauma ward, lack of Neo-natal intensive care unit). I tend to obsessively investigate things that I will probably be going through in the future... it's a bit of a character flaw. C'est la vie, though.

One of the interesting aspects of being in this field of work is the separation of what are scientifically supported practices and what is tradition, on both sides. Requires a lot of extra research and digging. Gotta love a science and critical thinking education.

Thanks for all of your very warm welcomes.