04/14/2026
“Midwife-attended deliveries like mine are uncommon in America, and that’s a shame,” writes Bonnie Kristian.
“Of course, midwifery isn’t appropriate for all pregnancies. There are many women and babies for whom hospital care, up to and including a scheduled C-section, is the right and prudent choice.
Freestanding (not hospital) birth centers are only equipped to handle low-risk, uncomplicated deliveries, which means some women will ‘risk out’ of their care, as midwives tend to phrase it. Twin pregnancies like mine are automatically high-risk.
But most pregnancies aren’t multiple, and far more births could be safely handled in birth centers than the 12 percent attended by midwives today.
Not only could, in fact, but should,” argues Kristian, “because midwife care in low-risk births correlates with better outcomes for mothers and babies alike.”
https://chrst.today/4cBOy9j
