Number of Health Care Organizations In Support of Certified Professional Midwives and Out-of-Hospital Birth Rapidly Increases

I found this information on another Doula's blog and I have been meaning to pass the information on to my readers, and I'm finally getting to it today! I feel this is very important because it impacts each woman's legal right and ability to choose her birth options. Please take some time to read through the articles presented. I'll include a short snippet of each article, along with a link to more information.

"WASHINGTON, D.C. (February 17, 2009)Two major health care organizations have joined the growing number of groups calling on policy makers to increase access to Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs) and out-of-hospital maternity care. Acknowledging the large body of evidence supporting the safety of home delivery with CPMs, who are specifically trained to care for mothers and babies in out-of-hospital settings, nursing and perinatal health care organizations criticized the American Medical Association (AMA) and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) resolutions calling for bans on CPMs and home birth. The groups also joined Consumer Reports magazine in highlighting the need for a major overhaul of the U.S. maternity care system." Read more.

"Midwives provide a safe and cost-effective alternative to the current model, where the market is dominated by high-cost, high-tech specialists producing less-than-optimal outcomes,” said Katie Prown of The Big Push for Midwives Campaign.

“Babies delivered by midwives are far less likely to be pre-term or low birth-weight, which are two of the leading causes of neonatal mortality and of the enormous costs associated with
long-term care. Midwives and out-of-hospital birth are an integral component of responsible health care reform, and the AMA and ACOG know this. That’s why they’re fighting so
desperately to protect their turf, even if it means denying women maternity-care options in the process.

"The National Perinatal Association (NPA) added to the growing list of organizations calling on the AMA and ACOG to end their vendetta against midwives and home birth and instead follow the World Health Organization’s (WHO) call to “‘work in a spirit of recognition and respect for each other’s authority, responsibility, ability and unique contribution." Read more.

I am not against doctors, medicine, or hospitals. I am for choices, and each woman's right to choose how and where she gives birth to her baby. In the United States Certified Professional Midwives are authorized to deliver babies in hospitals in all 50 states. However, half of the states of the Union currently forbid midwives from delivering babies out of the hospital. I personally feel we should be given the right to choose our birth method, location, and professional support according to the dictates of our own consciences.