Raging debate about illegal midwifery in Missouri

It is nearly unfathomable that home birth midwifery is illegal in some states, despite the many studies and the World Health Organization's stance that midwifery care and home birth are safe -- if not safer -- than hospital births for low-risk mothers. Anyway, here is a link to a Chicago Trib health blog on the topic which happens to quote from my book. Click on the link for some fascinating feedback. http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/features_julieshealthclub/2007/11/midwives-vs-men.html
Here is the link to the original story the blog post was based on: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-midwives_bdnov25,1,398264.story?ctrack=2&cset=true


Originally posted: November 26, 2007

Midwives vs. men
In Missouri, using a midwife during a home birth is not just illegal, it's a felony. And in nine states, including Illinois, Iowa, and Indiana, some forms of midwifery are illegal, reported Chicago Tribune national correspondent Kirsten Scharnberg in "Black market for midwives defies bans."

It's not the first time states have tried to kill midwifery.

Though having a baby at home with a midwife regularly produces a better outcome than having one in a hospital--women attended by midwives ultimately have lower Caesarean rates, fewer interventions such as labor induction and episiotomies and lower infant mortality than those attended by doctors in in the U.S. and abroad--male physicians have been trying to kill the profession since at least the 1750's, writes Tina Cassidy in the fascinating book "Birth: The Surprising History of How We Are Born." (Grove Press, $14).