Today is International Midwives Day.
In many countries, mothers and families will have little else to celebrate. Food may be scarce, war and disease rampant. You can be sure, however, that they are glad to have a trained, competent midwife in their community, if such is the case. In fact, midwives deliver more than 70 percent of the babies born in Western European countries that have lower infant and maternal mortality, lower Caesarean birth rates, and lower health- care costs than the United States, according to the World Health Organization. These families are likely to have enough to eat, too.