Obstetrician Vs. Midwife

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expects the birth will go right.

"Midwife" is a word that comes from the old English words mit wif, literally "with woman." A midwife is a person who is "with woman," especially during the period of pregnancy, birth, and caring for the newborn. Some people also use the word midwife as a verb, meaning to help give birth, as in "She 'midwifed' the project." The things that midwives do is called "midwifery" (pronounced mid-whiff-err-ee).

There are many types of midwives throughout the world. The World Health Organization recognizes the importance of midwives in promoting the health of women and babies throughout the world and strongly encourages that midwives be the primary health care providers for pregnant women throughout the world. Midwives are specialists in normal pregnancy and women's health care. Obstetricians and gynecologists are specialists in surgery and illness, and are not the appropriate care providers for healthy women experiencing normal pregnancy (although they ...

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in many states, and there is a move for licensure in many more. A few states offer licensure for traditional birth attendants, or allow them to practice under limited conditions. Some states consider the practice of midwifery to be the practice of medicine, others do not. It can be very confusing for the consumer, and things change frequently. But certification (CNM, certified nurse-midwife, or CPM, certified professional midwife) is evidence that the midwife has attained competency in various areas considered "core competencies" for midwifery practice, and has passed a standardized examination on these topics. Certification also indicates that the midwife has attended at least 30 ...

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