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Comment by rayiner | Hacker News Reader

Midwives are practitioners in the field of child birth in the same way barbers used to be practitioners in the field of surgery. Yes, they engage in the practice and for a long time they were the only game in town. But it's not a systematic discipline and therefore experience isn't cumulative.

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The University of Washington educates midwives alongside do tors and nurses: http://nursing.uw.edu/node/371

My wife's cousin is going through the program right now and will graduate with the equivalent of an MD. She's doing residency at a large hospital in Seattle and did clinical at another in Boise. When she graduates she'll be working adjunct at either another hospital up here, or through Stanford. I'm no medical expert, but I trust her experience and expertise. I'm not sure where you're information is coming from, but I think you may be misinformed.

This isn't true. Midwifery is a serious discipline and you must be licensed in the US. Also, they even have Doctors of Nurse Practice (DNP) of Midwifery at the respected Baylor [1] and other schools. I would recommend watching "The Business of Being Born" (it is on Netflix) - it is very enlightening about the safety and discipline of midwifery, and why hospital births are unnatural and in some ways incredibly unsafe.

[1] http://www.baylor.edu/nursing/nursing_grad/index.php?id=5668...

I think you are mistaken. In Britain, the term 'midwife' means specifically a postgraduate qualification on a general nursing degree. They are certified medical professionals and have a level of specialised knowledge akin to a ICU nurse or a surgical nurse. Indeed, midwifes attend Caesarean sections, as part of the surgical team.

I have a cousin in Australia that is a midwide - it's the same deal, she started out as an RN before getting her postgrad midwife quals.

Not only are they serious medical professionals now, but they have been for a while. Watch the British TV show Call the Midwife. Even back in the 50s midwives were well-trained specialized nurses who dealt with serious medical issues on a regular basis.

I think you're thinking of midwives from a few hundred (or more) years ago, before the fields of medicine and nursing existed as they do today.

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