San Francisco General Hospital nurse-midwifery practice: the first thousand births

Since its inception in 1975, the staff of the Nurse-Midwifery Service at San Francisco General Hospital has attended the deliveries of over 1,000 women. A description of the service and the outcome statistics are presented. The population of women served is a mixed risk group. It includes all women designated as nurse-midwifery patients, including those at risk who were transferred to tertiary care. Outcome statistics are comparable to those of the obstetrics department in general. Use of alternative labor and delivery practices contributes to good perinatal outcome.