Barred from home births, Ala. midwives hope to decriminalize their career
by Traci Bratton
Dr. Joseph R. Biggio Jr. has been delivering babies for 15 years and heads the division of maternal and fetal medicine within the department of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He said he has partnered with several CNMs at the university’s hospital and vouches for their care. He said he is not attacking midwives, though he does question the scope of their training. His main problem is the birth venue — at home — and the time it takes to transfer a woman to a hospital in an emergency.