Midwives are guided by the principle that pregnancy and birth are normal, healthly events in a woman's life. They partner with expectant mothers to provide individualized health care during pregnancy, birth, and until eight week postpartum.

Comprehensive Care
Licensed midwives see their clients regularly for prenatal care. They offer lab work, ultrasounds and other testing, continuous care during labor and birth, several home visits during the first week of postpartum, and regular office visits until six to eight weeks postpartum. Visits with midwives usually last about an hour, allowing time for questions and for discussions about testing, the deeper aspects of pregnancy, and the transition to parenthood.

No Unnecessary Interventions
In some hospitals, interventions such as IV's, fetal monitors, routine rupture of membrances, and routine inductions often bring about many of the complications that result in an excessive number of cesarean sections and other perceived emergencies. "Failure to progress", the most common reason given for performing cesarean sections, is often a "failure to wait" on the part of the attendant. Midwives monitor mother and baby in an unobtrusive way without disrupting the progress of the birth. An underwater Doppler, for example, can be used to check the baby's heartbeat while the mother floats and relaxes in a labor tub.

Professional Qualifications
After extensive training, Washington State midwives are licensed by the State Department of Health and guided by their state professional association, the Midwives Association of Washington State (MAWS). Additional information about the re-emerging profession of midwifery is available on the MAWS website at: www.washingtonmidwives.org.

Insurance Coverage
Most health insurance providers as well as Medicaid/DSHS cover midwifery care and the use of a birth center.

Safety
For healthy women with normal pregnancies, well-designed studies repeatedly show that planned home or birth center births attended by a licensed midwife equipped with medications and oxygen are equally as safe with significantly fewer interventions, when compared to hospital births. This safety record relies on appropriate screening, consultation, and transfer of care if complications arise during pregnancy or birth.

In 1990, the world Health Organization (www.who.int/en/) declared that in both developed and developing countries birth was actually safer for mothers and babies when midwives were used for pregnancy and childbirth. Countries with the highest rate of midwifery care today - such as the Netherlands, which has a 30% out-of-hospital birth rate - also have the best outcomes for mothers and babies.

For more information on the safety of out of hospital birth: Research citations