Midwives are best for most women

I've heard so many people say, "I'd feel safer having a doctor at my birth, not a midwife", that I'm compelled to offer the following. FACT: Midwives are considered safe health care providers for most pregnancies. Study after study relates that midwives are not only a safe choice for most pregnancies but actually a safer and smarter choice than an OB. According to a major study done by Peter Schlenzka, using a nurse-midwife and having a natural delivery may result in the following benefits:

• Lower maternity care costs
• Reduced mortality and morbidity related to cesarean and other interventions
• Lower intervention rates
• Fewer recovery complications

Add to this that midwives offer much more personalized care, and well, a midwife starts sounding pretty darn amazing. FACT: Schlenzka’s reviewed over 800,000 births for his study above and based on the report data noted that there are no advantages of an obstetric hospital approach to labor and birth as compared to a nurse-midwife approach to labor and birth either inside or outside of the hospital. Yup, including homebirth. FACT: Midwives are safe for low risk pregnancies. According to the American Pregnancy Association, 60 to 80% of all pregnancies are low risk, which means there's a good chance that your pregnancy care provider of choice should very well be a midwife. To learn more about how a midwife might be your perfect pregnancy care provider read:

• Facts vs. myths about midwives
• Types of midwives to choose from
• How you can support midwives
• Read about a midwife supported birth