Midwives play an important role in providing comprehensive care and education for women and their newborns.  Have you ever wondered what a midwife’s yearly salary might be?  There are several factors that determine the salary  range.  Most importantly is midwife education and certification.  Other factors are the level and years of work experience, employer, and the service location.  Certified nurse midwives can earn an estimated salary between $70,000 to $90,000 a year. There are several accredited midwife schools across the nation and we have many of them listed here on our website called How Do I Become A Midwife.

• Interesting facts about midwifery in the U.S.A. on a global comparison.
• The percentage of countries providing universal prenatal care that have lower infant mortality rates than the United States: 100%.
• The percentage of U.S. births attended principally by midwives: 5% The percentage of European births attended principally by midwives: 75%.
• Number of midwives practicing in the U.S.: 3,000-4,000 direct-entry midwives; 3,500 certified nurse-midwives.
• Number of midwives needed in the U.S. to meet European levels: 120,000.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) states that the preferred location for most births is outside the hospital, either at home or in a birthing center, and that out-of-hospital birth should be implemented and maintained as the basic standard for all midwifery education and training programs.
• According to two recently published studies, direct-entry midwife-attended home births were accomplished with safety comparable to that of conventional births. In fact, physician-attended hospital birth has never been shown to be safer than midwife-attended home birth for women with normal pregnancies.
• Most home births in the United States are attended by direct-entry midwives.
• Americans could save $13 billion to $20 billion annually in health care costs by developing a network of midwifery care providers, demedicalizing childbirth, and encouraging breastfeeding. (Frank A. Oski, M.D., professor and director, Department of Pediatrics, John Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore)

Source:  CHOICE

For those who are considering homebirth you may want to reach out and network with other homebirthers online or in a local community homebirth group.   Your midwife or doula may provide some excellent contact sources with other homebirthers.  Be sure to also check with your state midwife association.  Click here for a list of links to communities that you may enjoy connecting with.

New! Now you can submit your natural home birth stories! Your natural home birth labor and delivery can be empowering and inspiring to other women.  Submit and share your natural home birth experiences and stories  so others may gain knowledge of alternatives and practices . Historically, most women gave birth at home without medical intervention. These births were generally attended by a midwife, local family physician, or members of the birthing woman’s family.  Submit your stories here.

More and more women are considering natural birth.  The following are 100 of some of the best top-notch natural birthing blogs providing invaluable resources covering a vast array of natural birthing subjects such as midwifery, natural birth stories, hypnosis, midwife and doula blogs, lamaze, and podcasts & videos.  These websites will help you make the right choices for the best birthing experience possible.  Click to read more…

View some of our recently added products for pregnancy and childbirth.  You may enjoy Hypnobabies Home Study Course for Expectant Mothers,  who want to ENJOY their baby’s natural birth by using hypnosis to eliminate pain and fear, and cannot attend a Hypnobabies Class, or simply want to study on their own, or a TENS Machine which stands for Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation. TENS has been successfully used by physical therapists, chiropractors and pregnant women for treating chronic pain and muscle toning. A TENS unit will generate electrical impulses that are used to reduce pain.

See more  products listings.

From Thebirthsurvey.com – “The purpose of The Birth Survey is to provide women with a venue to give feedback about their birth experiences with specific doctors, midwives, hospitals and birth centers, and to make this feedback available on this website as searchable reports. These reports currently include overall ratings but will over time expand to include detailed feedback. These searchable reports will be a resource to help other women and families to make more informed choices when choosing maternity care providers and birth settings and provide practitioners and institutions with feedback for quality of care improvement efforts.”

Come check out our top picks of award winning pregnancy, delivery and midwifery books.  From What to Expect When You Are Expecting, to Heading Home With Your Newborn, these top rated books are considered essentials for pregnancy, birth and new moms.  We’ve included books from Ina May’s Guide to Breastfeeding and Guide to Childbirth, as well as how to deal with Unassisted Childbirth.  We’re sure you’ll find a wealth of helpful information waiting to assist you on your journey to motherhood.

STAR TRIBUNE – June 3, 2010, St. Joseph’s Hospital, the oldest in Minnesota, has found a new niche as it relies on midwives.

‘Ooooooowwww … I can’t!”

Ashley Maas, laboring in a birthing tub, long blond hair tied back, has had enough.

Her midwife, Brielle Stoyke, submerges her arms elbow deep in the water and urges: “Just let this baby come. You’re doing good.”

“Oh my God, I’m gonna die!” Maas yells. “I want my baby!”

That’s when Peyton Maas, 7 pounds and 5 ounces, slips into the water and into the world.

Peyton is one of 1,200 babies delivered at St. Joseph’s Hospital in St. Paul each year. He also happens to be part of a startling statistic. St. Joe’s performs fewer Caesarean sections, as a share of total births, than almost any other hospital in the country.

At St. Joe’s just one in 10 babies is delivered surgically. Nationally, the average is one in three.

Because C-sections cost roughly twice as much as vaginal births, and because medical experts are beginning to ask if they’re performed more often than necessary, the experience of St. Joe’s is instructive at a time when many Americans wonder if they’re paying too much for medical care — or getting the wrong kind.

It’s a debate that starts, fittingly, at the beginning of life.

Surge in C-sections

To read more go to www.startribune.com

Is home birth really as safe as birth at a hospital or birthing center?

For most women with low-risk pregnancies, birth outside the hospital is as safe as—or safer than—hospital birth. The medical attitude of expecting trouble during birth, and the hospital policies that support this attitude, prevent women from giving birth easily and safely in the typical hospital.