The Illinois Department of Professional Regulation (IDPR) agrees with Rebecca A. Parks (Voice, Oct. 16), who wrote in response to a Tribune article on midwives, that women should be afforded the option to give birth at home.
But it is the charge of IDPR to ensure that women who choose this alternative do so under the care of proper medical personnel. State law allows licensed physicians or registered nurses supervised by physicians to practice midwifery in Illinois. In fact, many RNs in the state obtain specialty certification as nurse midwives to aid physicians in both home and hospital births.
These health professionals also help women prepare for home birth by following medical protocol to treat or anticipate prenatal problems. And when difficulties arise, their advanced training comes immediately into play.
Lay midwives are undoubtedly called to their vocation by compassion and only good intentions. The law only asks that they obtain the necessary license. It is intended to protect the health of mothers and their newborns and to avoid even one tragic outcome.
