Midwives vs. Obstetricians

Paper Summary:

The following paper examines the controversy over whether midwifery and home birth is safe as opposed to the practices of obstetricians who by definition are licensed by the AMA to practice obstetrics in a formal hospital setting. The author concludes that statistically, the number would at first seem to reflect that midwife assisted birth is safer, however, it is of the opinion of this writer that this may be due to their reluctance to accept high-risk patients. Direct entry midwives see birth as a natural process and obstetricians see it as a medical condition. This paper claims that both sides of the issue have equally valid arguments and these arguments are situational, depending on the particular case.

From the Paper:

"The main technical differences between obstetricians and nurse midwifes is that obstetricians learn to [use forceps and perform cesarean births, abortions and hysterectomies Lee, 1997).] Nurse midwives are not allowed to perform these functions. Certified nurse-midwives are trained, in both nursing and midwifery. They perform [pap smears, prescribe birth control pills, and provide other routine gynecological care. They see a woman throughout her pregnancy, order the required lab tests, and deliver the baby in a hospital or birthing center (Hendricks, 1994).] Direct Entry Midwives cannot prescribe medicine or perform their services in a hospital setting. If a delivery being assisted by a nurse-midwife suddenly becomes risky, they would turn to an obstetrician to perform the needed services."

More papers on Midwives vs. Obstetricians:

• Analytical Essay # 127672 : "Nature vs. Nurture"
• Essay # 32163 : "Brown vs. Board Of Education"
• Term Paper # 120720 : "Nature vs. Nurture"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: