Midwives aid in natural process

To the editor:

In response to the letter from Dr. Eric Morton, president of the Cape Girardeau County Medical Society:

How interesting it is that when doctors' pocketbooks are adversely affected, they get really vocal in opposing a natural, spiritual process that has been occurring since the dawn of mankind. I would much rather have a spiritually inspired, God-fearing midwife deliver my children at home with the whole family present than an atheistic, materialistic physician who uses synthetic drugs such as Demerol (meperidine), X-rays and intravenous needles and who interferes in a completely natural process with a sorcerer's brew of unnecessary procedures during pregnancy, labor and hospital delivery. This traps the baby in a drug-polluted, oxygen-deprived environment not conducive to his present or future health.

The midwifery bill (House Bill 36) is about freedom to choose natural alternatives. Childbirth is not a disease but a natural process that will happen on its own. The efficacy of midwifery is well-documented over thousands of years. One item missing from H.B. 36 is a provision to require both midwives and obstetricians to disclose their birth success ratios and cure ratios for statistical comparison.

Toxemia, a sickness of late pregnancy, is linked to nutrition, preventable with nutritional supplements. Unlike midwives, medical schools no longer teach skills for delivering breeches. Consequently, Caesarean sections now run rampant. After childbirth, physicians recommend mercury-laden vaccinations suspiciously linked to autism. No thank you, Doctor.

ROBERT T. KRONE Jr., Cape Girardeau