Midwife Arrives in Today's 'Stone Soup' Strip

By: E&P Staff A character not often seen in newspaper comics pages -- a midwife -- is being introduced in today's "Stone Soup" strip.

She'll handle the very pregnant Joan's upcoming delivery in the Universal Press Syndicate comic. The new midwife character has a master's degree from Yale's Certified Nurse Midwife program, one of the top programs in the country.

"Stone Soup" is by Jan Eliot, the Eugene, Ore.-based cartoonist whose daughter has had two home births herself. Eliot reported receiving many e-mails from midwives, mothers, and others praising her plans to have Joan use the alternate method of childbirth.

"For healthy women under the care of a professional midwife, home births are certainly an option today that's chosen by many," she said.

Eliot has also made sure Joan's pregnancy is portrayed as realistically as possible -- including morning sickness in the car, suppers of only crackers and grapes, and huge swollen ankles.

Today's "Stone Soup" comic can be seen here.