Robert C. Goodlin reported in the Lancet on 1,000 births, half occurring in a hospital, half in a birth center. There were no IVs, monitors or anesthesia used in the birth center, but the babies were born in better condition. In 1982, Anita Bennett and Ruth Lubic evaluated 2000 births that had happened in 11 freestanding birth centers. A British research statistician, Marjorie Tew, did long term studies of the safety of birth in various settings during the 1980s. Tew then expanded her research by using information from the Netherlands, a nation where both obstetricians and midwives practice.
Midwives attend most of the births in the Netherlands.
In 1988, the US ranked 19th among industrialized nations for low infant mortality rates. This stat is priceless. There is always going to be some risk when giving birth, as in all of life, and women should be carefully screened for any health problems that could be dangerous during labor and delivery. For certain women in rare instances, obstetric care is essential. However, for most women, better, healthier results are seen when mothers chose birth centers or home births.