Midwifery
Midwifery is recognized as one of the world's oldest professions, dating back to Old Testament times, when expectant women looked to female friends for comfort and turned to midwives for skilled attendance. After all, the meaning of the word is "with woman."
But the practice of midwifery has been scrutinized since the early 1800s when many women died from childbirth, and untrained women who called themselves midwives joined the movement.
The idea behind midwifery is that women control the birth of their children and orchestrate the delivery - with the help of a trained professional. There are two types of midwives - CNMs (certified nurse midwives) and licensed or lay midwives.
A CNM is a registered nurse who has a nursing degree and has graduated from an accredited midwifery program. CNMs usually work in coordination with a local obstetrician in case complications occur. Licensed midwives receive a certificate from one of several midwifery organizations across the country.
Unlike in hospitals, midwives encourage women to give birth in whatever position they prefer. Some squat on a stool, sit on a toilet or lean on their husbands as they deliver. Another difference is that midwives and birthing centers rarely give drugs, including anesthesia, and they do not use episiotomies - an incision made between the anus and the vagina to aid with the birth.
Today midwives are governed by the individual laws of each state. They are considered an effective, careful group of professionals whose work has actually improved infant mortality rates in the U.S. and abroad. However, 95 percent of babies still are born in hospitals.
