Economics of Midwifery

Since, as they say, "money talks"...

1. Percent of countries providing universal prenatal care that have lower infant mortality rates than the United States: 100%

2. Percent of US births attended by midwives: 4%

3. Percent of European births attended by midwives: 75%

4. Number of European countries (Great Britain, France, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland) with higher perinatal mortality rates than the US: 0

5. Average cost of midwife-attended birth in the US: $1,200

6. Average cost of physician-attended birth in US: $4,200

7. Health care cost savings if midwifery care were utilized for 75% of US births: $8.5 billion/year

8. Health care cost savings by bringing US cesarean section rate into compliance with WHO recommendations: $1.5 billion/year

9. Health care cost savings by extending midwifery care and de-medicalizing births in the US: $13-20 billion/year

Compiled by Marsden Wagner, MD, Consultant for World Health Organization
reprinted in "Baby Catcher" by Peggy Vincent with permission

Essentially...midwives are one of this country's great untapped resources. They are skilled in the beautiful, normal, and natural process of childbirth. They know, that of all the ways they can assist in birth, the most important is to allow a mother to be free to follow and express their own primitive rhythms during the process. Midwives facilitate SAFE and PURE childbirth.

Of course there is so much more to say, but this blog will be an advocate for CHOICE in CHILDBIRTH and educating men and women about the true possibility for gentle, peaceful, un-interfered-with birth.