European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 3, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Special delivery Derrick Reynolds attends to his wife As Eitel prepares for the delivery. Continued from Page 13 Slippery. Eitel suctioned the infants nose and Mouth with a Blue bulb syringe to help Clear the nasal passages in preparation for the first breath of air. The baby s shoulders squeezed through quickly followed by the rest of his body. Eitel took the child in his arms cleared the Newborn s nose and Mouth again and announced it was a boy. Eitel asked the smiling father if he wanted to Cut the umbilical Cord. Derrick Reynolds nodded yes took the scissors and snipped the Cord setting his infant son on the Road towards Independence. The army Hospital in Frankfurt is the Quot baby Central Quot of the . Military Community in Europe an average of 150 babies Are born every month a More than at any other military facility overseas. Four of the army s 29 midwives Are stationed in Frankfurt the Only army facility in Europe where midwives Are used. They deliver about a third of the babies born at the Hospital. The air Force has five midwives in Europe and the Navy one Quot they free us to do surgery and see problem patients on other wards Quot said or it. Col Manuel de los Santos chief of obstetrics and gynaecology at the Hospital. The midwives he said Are fully capable of delivering a Normal birth. They also examine All mothers after delivery spend time educating patients and educate nurses in the smaller clinics. While the word midwife implies that the Job is filled by a woman Eitel said the term actually Means Quot with woman Quot Eitel s patients Don t seem to care about his gender. Quot i feel comfortable with him Quot said capt. Gail Miller from he co v corps special troops in s-3, adding that she Quot never thought twice about Eitel being a male midwife. Midwives have helped women deliver their babies since biblical times. They were common in Europe but were slow in gaining wide Public acceptance in the United states. Although used in colonial times by european settlers puritans suspected that some midwives were witches. In the Early 1900s, the new York City health department considered midwives As untrained ignorant and dirty women. Then in the 1920s the first nurse midwifery program was established in Kentucky where midwives were needed in Rural mountainous areas. Infant and Mother deaths began to decrease in places where midwives practice and from that Point on midwifery began to make professional strides. The profession really began to flourish in the 1970s when people became interested in natural childbirth and alternatives to traditional Hospital delivery. A midwife cares for a woman throughout her pregnancy evaluating her for any problems and answering questions she May have about pregnancy or the eventual delivery. One drawback to practising midwifery in the military is that the patient usually does not see the same midwife at each visit Eitel said. Spec. Penny Manus of the 22nd chemical co in Frankfurt Felt fortunate that she had seen Only Eitel during the first five months of her pregnancy. Quot i done to want to change midwives a she said. Seeing a different person each time Quot makes you feel insecure sometimes. But in the military you get whoever is  Eitel emphasizes to his patients that for the most part pregnancy is a Normal experience. Pregnant women often Are concerned about weight gain morning sickness How they will know when labor begins sleep disturbances and medications Quot How do you know it s time for labor if your water does t break Quot asked Cherise Coston during a routine checkup with Eitel. Quot before you say anything i gained five pounds i went to see my Mother in Nurnberg Quot Jasmine Smith warned Eitel during her visit. Routine checkups during a pregnancy include measuring the expanding uterus listening to the baby s heartbeat and ensuring that the necessary blood tests have been taken. Eitel asks women who Are near the 20th week of pregnancy if they have Felt the baby move. For most pregnant women the first fluttering of the baby moving inside her body Are a turning Point in pregnancy. Quot it makes pregnancy seem More real Quot Eitel said. Eitel enjoys being a midwife because the people and situations Are always changing. Each pregnancy and every woman s reaction to the changes in her body Are different. Eitel became interested in midwifery while a student nurse and worked As an obstetrical nurse for about five years. He studied midwifery at the University of Kentucky where he was the first male to enter the program. He is the army s Only male midwife. Obstetrics he said Quot is a joyous Type of  for Eitel the satisfaction of being a midwife comes at the end of the pregnancy when he puts Quot a Nice healthy baby on momus belly and sees the dad  Page 14 the stars and stripes a a a i is is it v a \ i a Quot it i is Quot Ltd a it. R v it 4 v amp to it t vis a a it v it. Of far left Eitel holds the Newborn boy. At left father Derrick Reynolds cuts his songs umbilical Cord. Below Eitel lifts baby Seth up for his parents to see. Ltd i a m a a t i Jeffi at far left Eitel massa9es the mothers Abdomen to Aid delivery. At left Eitel and Derrick and Tracy Reynolds Between contractions. 1990 bbb the stars and stripes a a a Page 15