Why Is ACOG So Scared of Midwives?

"Having a CPM attend your birth comes with a major benefit to taxpayers and states as well -- lower c-section rates, and lower complications result in big savings. Washington reported a savings of $2.7 million after just 2 years of use of CPMs. The Department of Health also found that over 87 percent of the time, transfer to a hospital is not required for moms or babies birthing outside the hospital with constant one-on-one care from a CPM"

Newborn Deliveries Are Scheduled Too Early, According to Hospital Watchdog Group

This is not to say that once a woman reaches 39 weeks gestation there are no longer any risks to "elective" delivery. I wholeheartedly believe that our bodies and babies know that they are doing and just as we put our trust in the natural process of labor and birth as being the safest for Mother and baby, so should we put our trust in the timing of labor to begin on it's own for the safety of Mom and baby.

"Every hospital should publicly report on their rate and actively prevent the practice, and every woman planning to give birth should demand the information,"

Hospital Rates of Early Scheduled Deliveries

"What’s going on at my hospital?
The Leapfrog Group, a non-profit organization that compares hospitals on national standards of safety and quality, asked hospitals to voluntarily report their rate of elective deliveries before 39 completed weeks of pregnancy. The hospital’s rate of elective deliveries is the percentage of non-medically indicated (without a medical reason) births between 37 and 39 weeks gestation, that were delivered by caesarean section or induction. Hospital rates of elective deliveries are listed below by state. Women should look at the rate of early elective early deliveries performed at hospital hospitals in their area and chose one that has a low rate"

Healthcare Reform Increases Medicare Reimbursement for Midwives

"Many consumers choose midwifes for low-risk pregnancies because of lower costs. A statewide survey in Pennsylvania, for example, found that the average charge of a midwife delivery at a birth center is $4,600 compared to $7,737 for a vaginal delivery at a hospital.

Christine Haas, executive director of Pittsburgh's Midwife Center for Birth and Women's Health, said, "The new law will help make midwife and birth center services more accessible and viable, which will ultimately lower costs to the health-care system as well as improve outcomes.""

Chlorhexidine (Hibiclens) Protocol For Labor Among GBS Positive Women

"No matter where you plan to birth, (home, birthing center, hospital) if you elect to test for GBS and the results are positive, you also have options other than automatic antibiotics."

Birth Tubs & Waterbirth

Photos and descriptions of a large variety of birthing tubs and the places they are used.

Home Births Rise, Mostly By Choice

Excerpt from the article;

"The American Public Health Association, the World Health Organization, and, as you might expect, the American College of Nurse Midwives, all support home and out-of-hospital births for low-risk women."

"Some of the states with big increase: Alabama, California, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin."

CDC Report: Demand for Out-of-Hospital Midwife Births Sharply Increases Research Debunks Physician Group Claims that Actress Ricki Lake is Responsible

Excerpt from the PDF file;

“The idea that American women choose out-of-hospital delivery because a celebrity had her baby at home or because they value the birth ...‘experience’ over the health of their babies is not only insulting, but it reveals an appalling lack of awareness on the part of ACOG and the AMA about the economic pressures influencing the health care decisions that people are making,”