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The History of Nurse Midwives in the United States
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Midwives have delivered millions of babies and have been responsible for saving the lives of countless women who might otherwise have died in childbirth. A profession as old as time, midwifery came to the U.S. with the pilgrims. Toward the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century however, childbirth came to be viewed as a medical issue and, particularly in the upper classes, women began to be attended by their doctors when delivering a child.
Midwifery was almost abolished as a profession just before the beginning of the 20th century, due to the notion that medical science had become advanced and childbirth, as a medical issue, should take place in a hospital. By the middle of the 1930s, the ranks of midwives had dwindled to little more than ten percent of its numbers at the turn of the century.
However, in the 1920s, the Frontier Nursing Service in Kentucky and the Maternity Center Association in New York City began to train midwives to compensate for the inadequate care frequently provided by hospitals; they were renamed nurse midwives.
Founded by Mary Breckenridge in 1925, the Frontier Nursing Service introduced the modern concept of a nurse midwife and by the 1950s, nurse midwives were recognized and established as a profession. In 1955, the American College of Nurse Midwifery was founded and in 1968, it merged with the American Association of Nurse Midwives in to become the American College of Nurse Midwives (ACNM).
As women became dissatisfied with their childbirth experiences in hospitals, a movement grew to return to childbirth at home using the services of a midwife. This did not escape the notice of the state authorities however, and many states began to prosecute midwives for practicing medicine without a license.
Then in 1982, the Midwives' Alliance of North America was founded and welcomed all midwives, without regard to their level of training, and subsequently developed standardized practices for all their members. Through their efforts and those of the ACNM, nurse midwives became regarded as providers of a valuable service to women, and enhancing the process of childbirth. The Cochrane database, a review of 7000 clinical studies of childbirth, gave credence to the methods of nurse midwives and their role in childbirth.
Most nurse midwives in the United States can now write prescriptions, have admitting privileges at hospitals and are eligible for insurance reimbursement as payment for their services.
Eric is the President of NursePractitionerJobs.net which lists thousands of nurse practitioner jobs, including dermatology, ob-gyn practitioner and physician assistant jobs
Article submitted Wednesday, May 04, 2011 & read 8 times.
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