BOSTON, MA, Feb 2, 2012 - Governor Deval Patrick signed a bill that expands the privileges and responsibilities of nurse-midwives. The governor has signed legislation that authorizes nurse-midwives to write drug prescriptions and order tests or therapeutics.

Home Births in the United States, 1990–2009 by Marian F. MacDorman, Ph.D.; T.J. Mathews, M.S.; and Eugene Declercq, Ph.D. The authors found that home birth is on the rise in the US.

In Washington, natural birth is big business! This article in the Washington City Paper describes the resounding success of a new midwifery practice at George Washington University Hospital under its director, Whitney Pinger, CNM. According to the article, "after running programs at Washington Hospital Center and Georgetown University Hospital, she came to GW last year, arriving like the LeBron of the up-market natural childbirth community." Click on the title to link to the article.

Judith Rooks' article on the Safety & Risks of Nitrous Oxide Labor Analgesia will be published in the next edition of the Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health (JMWH). It has been published online ahead of the online publication of the journal issue. Click on the title to read the citation and abstract.

A PRACTITIONER PERSPECTIVE by Faith Gibson LM, CPM, in the September 2011 Birth (Volume 38, Issue 3, pages 266–268, September 2011). An excerpt in which Faith Gibson explains why she wrote the article follows.

Published: September 5, 2011 in the New York Times By NICHOLAS BAKALAR According to a new analysis, the United States now ranks 41st in the world in terms of neonatal mortality, the death rate of infants less than one month old. The rate is higher in the United States than in, among others, Cuba, Slovakia, Croatia and all of Western Europe and Scandinavia.

A systematic review to be published in the September/October 2011 issue of Nursing Economic$ reports that care provided by certified nurse-midwives (CNMs) is associated with comparable or better outcomes than care managed exclusively by physicians.

LONDON (Reuters) Jun 20 - More investment in midwifery could save many of the millions of babies and hundreds of thousands of women who still die every year because of a lack of skilled healthcare during childbirth, the United Nations said on Monday.

Objectives—This report presents preliminary data for 2009 on births in the United States. U.S. data on births are shown by age, live-birth order, race, and Hispanic origin of mother. Data on marital status, cesarean delivery, preterm births, and low birthweight are also presented.

From Medscape Medical News; Home Birth Study Findings Raise Controversy, by Emma Hitt, PhD July 16, 2010 — A meta-analysis of studies comparing planned home births vs hospital births reported that home births may be associated with an increased neonatal mortality rate; however, the study findings are controversial and have received criticism.