Laura Paoletti has delivered approximately 1,000 babies over the past eight years, and at this point she is unfazed by unusual birth plans.

At one hospital birth, the mother wanted thundering music by the rock band AC/DC to be playing as her child entered the world.

“(And) there was a woman who wanted to deliver out in her garden. ... That was in 1997 or ’98,” said Paoletti, a certified nurse midwife.

These are but a few of the tales of midwives, who assist in home deliveries and have gotten growing attention as some mothers have moved towards less invasive, more holistic techniques while giving birth.

Lisa Cucinella, a certified nurse midwife at Napa Women’s Medical Group, said she has not attended home births, but they are “just as safe (as hospital births), given the population of low-risk women with no risk factors.”

Contrary to popular belief, however, most midwife-assisted births do not happen at home.

Pamela Higgins — a registered nurse and certified nurse midwife at Napa Women’s Medical Group — said this is one of the biggest misconceptions about her profession. “The majority of midwifery births are in hospitals now,” said Higgins, adding that certified nurse midwives at Napa Women’s Medical Group deliver approximately 20 babies each month at Queen of the Valley Medical Center.

In addition to where to safely give birth, patients’ can decide whether or not to use pain medications.

Paoletti said about 75 percent of the mothers she assisted in hospitals chose a no-drug regimen before birth; another 25 percent changed their minds during prolonged labor. Although not all of her patients refuse painkillers, there is an appeal to doing it all on your own, she said.

“If our bodies are made to give birth and we are masking that pain, then we’re not giving ourselves full credit as women. ... Once you’ve achieved that, there’s a sense that there’s nothing you can’t do,” she said.

Cucinella said between 60 and 70 percent of her patients choose pain relief options including intravenous drugs or epidurals. Still, she said, more women are opting to deliver without drugs.

“I think that there is something empowering about giving birth to your child without the need for those things. … After they do it, I’ve seen them really feel like they’ve changed as a person,” she said.

American women are developing an increased affinity for midwifery. According to the American College of Nurse-Midwives, “Since 1990, the number of nurse-midwife-attended births in the United States has doubled.”

Higgins said there are several reasons midwife-assisted births are on the rise.

The first certified nurse midwife in Napa County to receive hospital privileges, Higgins has delivered babies locally since 1987 and said midwife-attended births result in fewer Caesarian deliveries and empower women by providing them with choices. “We support the patient and their family as long as it’s safe for the mother and the baby. ... (Midwifery is) a team approach to health care (and) the relationship between patient and midwife tends to be significant.”

Dr. Jerome Solomon, medical director of Napa Women’s Medical Group, said there are two full-time midwives and one part-time midwife on his staff. Solomon said some of the benefits of midwife-assisted births include lower episiotomy rates and more time spent with patients — both in the office and during delivery. “By doing so, they get perhaps more rapport and the patients feel more comfortable because they can spend more time with them. ... I think it’s a very positive thing for patient care,” he said.

Jennifer Despres, a registered nurse, certified nurse midwife and nurse practitioner at Napa Women’s Medical Group, said midwives’ approach to women’s health care is holistic and as non-invasive as possible. “(Midwives’) focus is on wellness … while medicine is traditionally focused on and treating disease.”

Midwives educate and counsel women, encourage them to understand their bodies and help them to be proactive about their health, she said. “The focus is on empowering women.”

Despres said for higher-risk pregnancies, midwives work with doctors when complications arise.

Associated only with birth plans and deliveries by most people, midwives also provide a plethora of services to women in all stages of life. In addition to prenatal and post-partum care and general women’s health, many midwives also specialize in adolescent health, annual examinations, birth control, menopause and more, said Higgins.