Ever wonder about all the fuss about midwives in Alabama? See those bumper stickers "Free the Midwives" or Alabama Mothers Deserve Midwives"? Check out this great slideshow on why Alabama needs Certified Professional Midwives.

1. Why Alabama Needs Certified Professional Midwives

3. Why Families Choose Out-of Hospital Birth Personal or religious reasons

4. Why Families Choose Out-of Hospital Birth Personal or religious reasons Concern about the medical model of care and/or hospitals

5. Why Families Choose Out-of Hospital Birth Personal or religious reasons Concern about the medical model of care and/or hospitals Geographic Issues

6. Why Families Choose Out-of Hospital Birth Financial Considerations

9. Inspired by traditional midwives, some midwives chose to enter the field directly without first becoming nurses. They organized themselves into professional groups and formulated standards of practice. The Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA) was founded in 1982 and the North American Registry of Midwives (NARM) in 1987. Seeing the need for a national standard and a psychometrically sound testing process, NARM created the Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) credential in 1994 to aid midwives seeking licensing and regulation.

23. The home births were found to have significantly better outcomes. “ Home Birth Versus Hospital Birth: Comparisons of Outcomes of Matched Populations.” By Dr. Lewis Mehl, Presented on October 20, 1976 before the 104th annual meeting of the American Public Health Association. For further information contact the Institute for Childbirth and Family Research, 2522 Dana St., Suite 201, Berkeley, CA 94704

28. Licensing Trends of CPMs

38. Alabama Families Want Safe Homebirth