In my quest to further understand our health care system and how it benefits my patients, I ordered a documentary on Netflix called "The Business of Being Born". The premise of the film is to show how delivering babies has shifted from a natural process to being a well orchestrated medical situation. The film chronicles several pregnant women including Rickey Lake, the ex-talk show host, through their various birth experiences.
The real take-home message from this film is that our society has turned the process of being pregnant and giving birth into a medical condition and thus downplaying the significance of nurse midwives. Take a look at this video...
Movie Trailer for The Business of Being Born
A midwife is an advanced practice nurse with extensive formal training in caring for pregnant women and delivering healthy babies. They can work in hospitals, birthing centers, and in your home. These professionals function in a similar capacity as nurse practitioners, in that they can manage yeast and urinary tract infections and STIs. If you need a well-woman exam, they've got you covered. While there are thousands of nurse midwives in the United States less than 3% of American woman utilize their services.
Unfortunately for nurse midwives, most women prefer to have their babies in a hospital under a doctor's supervision. This isn't always necessary seeing as though at least 80% of pregnant woman are low-risk and would greatly benefit from the expertise of a nurse midwife.
Check out these fun facts:
- Midwives attend over 70% of births in Europe
- France has the lowest infant mortality rate
- US is ranked #37 in infant mortality (two spots above Cuba)
- US is ranked #39 in maternal mortality (this number has increased from 11 to 16 per 100,000 since 1990)
The moral of today's story is ASK QUESTIONS and do your research. Should every woman go out and get a nurse midwife? No, because it's not for every woman and her situation. BUT every woman should be informed.
We spends hours researching the safest cars, car seats, strollers, etc. Shouldn't we research the safest ways to have our babies.
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