The word mid-wife means "with woman" in old English. There are several of these nurse-midwives practicing in Gainesville delivering babies at North Florida and Shands AGH.

Choosing the right doctor during pregnancy can be one of the biggest decisions a family has to undertake.

In the U.S. women's choices were once limited to obstetricians, but recently nurse-midwives have become a more popular alternative.

"I would say every birth is out of the ordinary every birth is extraordinary, " said Jane Houston, a midwife from Scotland who practices in Gainesville. She also said that more than 70 percent of births are assisted by midwives in Europe. And she says its catching here. For more on this story please see video: