CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Two women have been charged with practicing midwifery without a license after a Charlotte newborn died following an underwater home birth.
Police arrested 43-year-old Mary Barhite and 45-year-old Jacqueline Proffit on Friday. Practicing midwifery without a license is a misdemeanor charge.
Barhite and Profitt were both released on bond. It couldn't be immediately determined Saturday if either has a lawyer.
In North Carolina, midwives must be registered nurses who are certified by the state.
Charlotte police say the women were at a private home last week assisting with an underwater birth, in which the baby is delivered in a tub of warm water. Police say there were complications with the delivery, and the newborn died after being rushed to a local hospital.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
