In the U.S. the use of midwives and home births has doubled since 2000. Midwives are state-certified healthcare professionals who also draw from an age-old wisdom. In this birthing experience, the mother’s body leads the process while the midwife supports. Families can create the loving, non-clinical environment that is right for them and enjoy a birth option that is statistically safer than hospital births.

The USA has the highest infant mortality rate for developed nations; the cesarean birth rate is skyrocketing to nearly 30 percent; and the use of chemical medicines has become commonplace in hospital births. The infant mortality rate for Native American families is 75 percent higher and the rate for African American families is 350 percent higher than that of non-Hispanic whites. These startling statistics are true across income levels.

At the same time that the efficacy of obstetricians for normal births is coming into question, mothers are also embracing a new consciousness about the birth process. A global trend toward natural lifestyles is leading women into organic food stores, yoga classes, meditation centers and natural healing centers. Many mothers are rejecting the notion that because they are in labor they are sick and need to be admitted into hospitals. They acknowledge birth as a normal process and want to experience birth fully without the use of medical intervention.

Maternidad la Luz Birth Center and School is the premiere school of midwifery in North America because it offers integrated academic and clinical training. Since 1987 Maternidad la Luz has been rooted in the community of El Paso / Juárez, by providing safe natural birth option for women in this border community. This unique environment blends progressive Western ideals and traditional Mexican values to empower all women.