Saved by the Midwife

MIdwives make an appearance in the Kansas City Star:

What if hospitals are overwhelmed by casualties, disease or infection? Many first responders are not prepared to deal with the special needs of pregnant women and infants. Where will women give birth during the next disaster?

The answer, according to this op-ed, is midwives, who are used to helping with births outside of hospitals — so a natural disaster would be no big deal to them.

I’m having trouble imagining a natural disaster that is so huge that women can’t get to hospitals, and that at the same time allows for easy communication with and transportation of midwives.

But even during the good times, women should be able to choose midwives without breaking the law. The op-ed notes that some religious groups do not use hospitals. For them, the choice is between an experienced midwife with some medical knowledge, and doing it themselves. Rural women who live far from hospitals might prefer to have a midwife close-by. And while there are risks involved in giving birth with a midwife rather than with an MD, there are also risks of exposure to infection and disease whenever you go to the hospital.

In short, legalizing midwifery is a good idea right now. We don’t need to wait for disaster to strike.