The Bloomfield father whose newborn son died after a 2002 breech birth took the stand yesterday at the trial of the midwife charged with causing the baby's death.

As he has from the start, Jonathan Daley defended midwife Judith A. Wilson, saying that he wanted her to deliver his subsequent three children, but Mrs. Wilson has been forbidden from practicing.

Mrs. Wilson has been charged with involuntary manslaughter, endangering the welfare of a child and practicing midwifery without a certificate.

Her non-jury trial before Common Pleas Judge Donald E. Machen will resume Feb. 18, likely with closing arguments, after Judge Machen reviews a motion presented by defense attorney Lee Rothman to reduce the felony manslaughter charge to a misdemeanor.

Mr. Daley, 31, testified that he and his wife, Heather, 29, wanted to avoid a hospital for childbirth.

"You have to follow these rules [at hospitals]," said Mr. Daley, an electrical engineer who has since moved to Butler with the family. "These [rules] are more from an insurance standpoint, a legal standpoint, than medical."

They found Mrs. Wilson, who agreed to deliver the child at the couple's Bloomfield home Nov. 21, 2002, even though they knew it might be a risky breech birth.

Mr. Daley testified that after the child's foot emerged, signaling a "footling breech," Mrs. Wilson asked the couple if they wanted to go to the hospital, but Mrs. Daley replied with a firm no.

The baby, who was named Isaac, was stuck in the birth canal for an hour and 40 minutes. Mrs. Daley tried to stimulate Isaac by tickling and squeezing him, Mr. Daley testified, but at a certain point the baby stopped responding.

Within a minute of Isaac's birth, Mr. Daley called 911 because his son wasn't breathing and had a pale skin color. He died two days later of asphyxiation due to breech birth.

Former Allegheny County Coroner Dr. Cyril H. Wecht recommended charges against her after the baby's death.

During cross-examination, Mr. Daley had several testy exchanges with Assistant District Attorney Lisa Pellegrini, and at one point he bowed his head and mouthed the words, "Please help me, Father."

"It's very hard to stay calm and not get mad," Mr. Daley said in an interview after the proceeding.

The Daleys had three more children after Isaac's death -- two boys and a girl. The first two were delivered by an unlicensed midwife in Mercer County, and the third was delivered at a midwife center.

Mrs. Wilson is not a certified nurse-midwife and is not licensed to practice midwifery in Pennsylvania. Certified nurse-midwives in Pennsylvania are licensed by the state boards of medicine and nursing.

Mrs. Wilson was registered by the North American Registry of Midwives, which is not recognized in Pennsylvania.

Judith Mentzer, a midwife from Orrstown, Franklin County, testified about the widespread use of unlicensed midwives in the state. A state form to get a birth certificate even includes a check box for "other midwife" when it asks who delivered the child.

"I think Allegheny County is just not used to home birth," Ms. Mentzer said after the proceedings. "There is no basis for this case. I'm confused why they even did it."

Ms. Mentzer, who testified that she has delivered 2,600 children, said that many of her clients are Amish or Mennonites. About a dozen Amish people watched yesterday's proceedings in what could be a precedent-setting case. Mr. Rothman said he believes Mrs. Wilson is the first ever Pennsylvania midwife to be charged with manslaughter in the death of a baby in childbirth.

"This decision could affect their way of life," Mr. Rothman said of the Amish spectators. "So it's important to them."