How Empowering Midwives Could Improve Health Care For Mothers

Statistics about giving birth in the U.S. are not promising. Several other wealthy countries have lower rates of both maternal and infant mortality than the U.S. and maternal complications from birth have doubled in the past 20 years.

But a new study, from the peer-reviewed journal PLOS ONE, says that integrating midwifes into the health care system might help.

Neel Shah, M.D., obstetrician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. He tweets @neel_shah.

Marylou Carr, director of midwifery at the Cambridge Birth Center, which is a part of the Cambridge Health Alliance.