``I remember pushing for four hours, mostly all by myself, with no idea what I was supposed to be doing,'' she said. The doctor eventually operated after deciding the baby was too big and was showing signs of distress.

When she had her second baby four years later, she returned to a hospital, but this time she hired a midwife. The midwife stayed with her during 16 hours of labor and reassured her when she screamed during contractions. This time, she delivered a healthy, 8-pound, 9-ounce baby -- larger than her first -- with no drugs and no surgery.

Many more American women could avoid Caesarean sections by following McCormack's example and choosing nurse-midwives, says a study published Monday by Public Citizen's Health Research Group.

While almost one-fourth of U.S. babies are born by C-section, the rate was less than 12 percent for those births attended by nurse-midwives in hospitals, the private group's study found.

With midwives' help, two in three mothers who had previous C-sections successfully delivered without surgery, the survey indicated. Nationally, only 25 percent of mothers avoid repeat C-sections.

The nation's more than 4,000 practicing nurse-midwives attended 185,000 births in the United States in 1992, or almost 5 percent of the total. Of the 185,000 births, 95 percent were in hospitals.

Those caring for predominantly high-risk patients had an average Caesarean rate only slightly higher than 12 percent, according to the survey of 419 hospital-based nurse-midwives and 39 free-standing birth centers.

Dr. Philip R. Lee, the assistant U.S. secretary for health, lauded the study, saying it ``documents the real benefits of midwifery.''

Lee, who heads the U.S. Public Health Service, said opposition to midwifery from hospitals, physician and restrictive state laws ``is diminishing, but has by no means disappeared.''

Lisa Summers, a nurse-midwife from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, said most of the 4 million U.S. women who bear babies each year don't need cutting-edge technology, machines or medical intervention.

At the turn of the century, midwives attended 40 percent of all births in the United States, but their role diminished as obstetricians and other doctors took over deliveries. In Europe, meanwhile, midwives attend 75 percent of births.

Public Citizen also released a Consumer Guide to Midwifery.

Midwives May Halt C-sections

Organization: Copyright 1995 by The Associated Press Date: Mon, 6 Nov 1995 15:10:29 PST

Organization: Copyright 1995 by The Associated Press
Date: Mon, 6 Nov 1995 15:10:29 PST