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Midwives safer, reduce risk of infant death

A recent report from the National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that the births attended by certified nurse midwives greatly increased the infant survi val rates over births attended by physicians. Births attended by midwives experienced a 19% lower death rate than those attended by doctors. The risk of infant death in midwife births within the first 28 days of life (neonatal mortality) was 33% lower and those suffering from low birth weight were 31 % lower as well. The researchers explained the statistics in part by differences in prenatal, labor and delivery care practices. A 1991 study reported in the Journal of Chiropractic Research and Clinical Investigation says that 10% of all babies that die at birth in the United States die from neurological damage to the brain stem caused by the medically assisted delivery process. This translates into 27,000 preventable infant deaths that occur every year from an injury called "decerebration", Decerebration is a form of stillbirth that results in separating the brain from the spinal cord when using the head as a lever to forcibly extract the baby from the womb by using manual traction or mechanical extractors. Fortunately the use of midwives is increasing; from 3% of all births in 1989 to 6% in 1995. "Once a new technology rolls over you, if you're not part of the steamroller, you're part of the road." - Stewart Brand

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