Speaker 1: WBEZ features is supported by the poetry foundation, presenting poetry events with artists including Ben Pokery, Deshun Smith, Chemie Lobby and Chicago poet laureate Avery are Young plus an Awl poetry library and a new exhibition on Harriet Monroe who founded poetry magazine in Chicago in 1912. All open to the public details at the poetry foundation dot org slash visit.

Speaker 2: You're listening to WBEZ Swedish hospital this summer laid off some midwives while others quit as the medical center made big changes. Many pregnant patients were outraged. In some cases, they had long headed two Swedish just for the hands on care of the midwives were known for research shows midwives could help reduce the maternal mortality rate gripping the nation while increasing the choices for patients and yet hospitals across the Chicago area are not investing in a midwives much or at all. WBEZ is Kristen Schorsch brings us this story. It's about five o'clock on a weekday and autumn. Murdoch who was 36 weeks pregnant, arrives at a regular group meeting with other pregnant people do around the same time. This is her first baby. She's having a boy and she's a little nervous, tall and athletic Murdock sinks into a circle of comfy chairs right now. I'm feeling ok like it's been a smooth pregnancy really up until the end. Like I was telling her that I like at the end it's hard to get sleep now because you have to be conscious of how you turn because you don't want to just turn to quick. The room is cozy, not sterile, like a doctor's office. Murdoch is here to see her group of black midwives in Illinois. A midwife is a nurse who has an advanced degree, they could manage a person's entire pregnancy and deliver their baby. And today Murdoch meets SG for the first time. SJ is a doula who plans to visit Murdoch for months after she gives birth. They chat about everything from taking a childbirth class. They go through breathing techniques to go through positioning to bond with her baby and encourage breastfeeding right after delivering him. You know, like some things that you can request our immediate skin to skin with baby as long as, as long as the heart rate and breathing is doing ok. The focus of this midwife group is to try to stop so many pregnant black people from dieing before and after childbirth. They do that by building trust with these mother's listening to and believing their concerns historically, that hasn't been the case yet. Despite research that shows midwives tend to have low see section rates and better outcomes for both parent and child, WBEZ found that many hospitals across the Chicago area are not investing in midwives or they're coming back. The voice deepens depending on where you live. It's particularly stark on Chicago's south side. Several hospital's declined to explain why. But midwives, health care advocates and other medical professionals told WBEZ, it comes down to this many hospitals dont value midwifery births can't take longer with midwives and some say hospital's don't pay them enough. Kerry Stewart is a midwife in Chicago. Autumn Murdoch is one of her patients.

Speaker 3: As we know midwives are more hand on, less invasive and so those birds may take a little bit more time, therefore holding up, you know, usage of one of those rooms. And it's really the concept of midwifery and really investing in midwifery and the care that patients are really looking

Speaker 2: for. Some say the lack of midwives at hospitals is about money that a cascade of interventions can happen with obese, ultimately leading two some unnecessary c sections. But that major surgery brings in more money still, even if hospitals wanted to bring on more midwives, it's not that easy. Leslie Sanchez underscores part of the problem. She's a midwife, but she's also a nurse with a doctorate degree. She says she makes more money working at a hospital as a nurse in helping doctors deliver babies that she could deliver herself. I think first is pay to be honest. And the second, the schedules awful for a lot of my colleagues, they work over 60 hours sometimes while generations and midwives trained for this is a calling. Others want more work life balance for all of the struggles to get midwives and hospitals. Patients who have experienced their care are a devout bunch. They tout how much they felt seen and heard that they had to say and how they would bring a child into this world. Instead of being told what to do. Midwives are trained. That birth is a normal process not to intervene unless it's medically necessary. Take Lizzie for Toto when she was pregnant with her son. Her midwives led a support group for parents, their babies. We do around the same time. They were building a relationship with me and building trust. I felt like all my concerns were listened to and validated. They believed me. And that's so sad that that's like an outlier in like a womans experience in general. And especially in healthcare says the midwives created a sense of community and she felt empowered and educated about what could happen when it came time to deliver. That support carried over to when Bartolo went into labor. Her son was born a little blue, the cord was wrapped around his neck. Specialists rushed in to make sure her baby boy was ok. But I just remember that the midwives they were only focused on me. They were like my advocates there from start to finish. But there's a reality here some hospitals are still struggling financially coming out of the pandemic. They are looking for ways to bring in more money and that might not be the midwifery model. Back at Stewart's prenatal group, Autumn Murdoch says she didn't know what a midwife was until she was placed with Stewart and her midwife team. Now she says they're like family, being comfortable is the most important part for me during the whole process. And this program has bought that and more like being able to be in a group with other moms that are at the same time. It's just like an energy that you get being here rather than just doing it solo on your own and form a circle with a few others. They close their eyes, breathe in, breathe out and they say an affirmation. I excited to meet my and I know that's true for you Kristen Schorsch WBEZ News. This is WBEZ.

Johanna Zorn

Stories by Johanna Zorn

A short statue in Chicago with big importance for labor history