01.21.2008 8:09 am
Should the practice of midwifery be legal in Missouri?
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
In a series of stories in the Post-Dispatch, we write about the practice of midwifery, in which trained lay people attend to the delivery of a child. This is typical in low-risk pregnancies and deliveries, where mothers are interested in delivering in a familiar and non-medical environment.
In Missouri, non-nurse midwives cannot practice without a doctor in attendance, though midwives are trying to have that law changed. Surrounding states allow non-nurse midwives to practice. According to one of our stories:
Many birth centers are staffed with non-nurse midwives … They are direct-entry midwives, those who learn midwifery through apprenticeship or a midwifery…
