Very true. I suppose I got a little too liberal with some word usage there. I, myself, will opt for midwives when my time comes (heath permitting, of course) The few midwives I've talked to around my area love that they connect with their ladies more than the OBs do/can. They are permitted to take on 60 women a year in B.C., that includes prenatal care, birth (home, hospital or birth centre) and up to six weeks of neonatal care (though that load is often shared between the head midwife and a couple part time midwives, the size of birthing centre -or working out of hospitals- changes that number). But it just makes sense to be able to make a lasting bond, and its a lot easier when there's only a few other women vying for their attention, as opposed to hundreds. And thank-you. (:
It's a sensitive issue because it's very easy for both sides to get their hackles up and stop talking and since my wife straddles the divide between "normal" and "crazy-ass woo" we both tend to get caught in the crossfire rather a lot. She has an OBGYN she relies on a lot (because some planned home births go to the hospital, and it's a good thing, too) who is obnoxiously proud of his sectioning skillz. And why not? He's a surgeon. That shit's baller. But he won't back many midwives in the area because they're antagonistic anti-hospital crazies that see the involvement of conventional maternity care as a failing, rather than a useful life-saving intervention that should be utilized freely. That 60 is an interesting number. My wife knows two or three midwives that routinely do 10-12 births a month.