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Caregivers who provide maternity care include obstetricians, family physicians, osteopaths, and midwives. In many countries , healthy childbearing women are cared for by midwives and physicians care for mothers-to-be who are considered at risk or have a serious medical condition. In the United States physicians care for low-risk women as well as those needing specialized care.

Physicians usually practice according to a "medical model" of care that includes routine use of technology, higher rates of interventions, and a focus on the anticipation of complications. Women are not always involved in making the decisions that affect their care.

The "midwifery model of care" is one that views labor and birth as a normal physiological process. Midwives spend more time on wellness, prevention, and helping childbearing women maintain an optimum state of health. Midwives usually have a lower rate of interventions, care for each woman according to her individual needs, and include women in the decisions that affect their care.

Some physicians include aspects of the midwifery model of care in their practice, some midwives include aspects of the medical model of care.

In the USA there are several types of midwives trained and/or credentialed by several organizations. Midwives can attend births at hospitals, birth centers, or at home depending on their training and licensing status.

There are many studies on the safety of planning a VBAC in a hospital. Many women choose to have a VBAC at a birth center or at home. Although many women have given birth safely at birth centers and at home, there are no published information at this time about the safety of planning a VBAC in a birth center or at home. Women are encouraged to gather as much information as possible, speak openly and honestly with their caregivers, and find out what resources are available in the event of a complication that may require emergency care. Women are also encouraged to ask questions of the hospital personnel at which they will give birth.


To find out more about midwifery, you may want to visit these websites:

 

 

 
 
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