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How did the number of nurse-midwives in the United States change between 1963 and 2007?
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midwifery
Midwives assisting a birth while astrologers consult sky charts; woodcut relief print from Jakob Rueff's De conceptu et generatione hominis (1554; The Expert Midwife).
In the United States, the number of nurse-midwives experienced significant growth during the latter half of the 20th century and into the early 21st century. This increase was driven in part by the women’s movement of the 1960s, which spurred demand for providers who could offer both the naturalness of traditional delivery and the safety of modern medical technology.1
According to data on nurse-midwives, the population of these professionals grew from fewer than 300 in 1963 to over 7,000 by 2007. Today, most certified nurse-midwives in the U.S. are prepared at the graduate level and primarily attend births in hospitals and formal birthing centers.1