Lecture Description
Choosing an Optimal Care Provider
Ten Issues to Explore
Instructor: Henci Goer | Duration: 80 Minutes
Perhaps the most important decision you make is choosing your maternity care provider. Learn the advantages and disadvantages of the various types of physicians and midwives. Find out what constitutes optimal care and how you can determine whether a prospective (or your current) doctor or midwife practices it.
Lecture Objectives
This lecture will enable you to…
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Determine what constitutes optimal care in childbirth.
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Refute common beliefs about practices and policies that are not supported by the research evidence.
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Choose among the various types of maternity care providers.
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Determine whether a prospective (or current) doctor or midwife provides optimal care.
Lecture Outline
This lecture will cover…
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What is Optimal Care?
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Ten Issues
Cesarean Surgery
Induction of Labor: For suspected big baby, prelabor rupture of membranes at term, impending postdates, routinely at term (A.K.A. elective induction)
Routine Labor Practices: Eating and drinking, IV, continuous fetal monitoring (cardiotocography), breaking the bag of waters, episiotomy (snipping the vaginal opening to enlarge it for birth)
Labor Support
Coping with Labor Pain
Mobility: Mobility during dilation phase, position during pushing and birth
Progress Delay in Cervical Dilation
Progress Delay in Pushing
Practices at the Birth: Not placing the baby skin-to-skin on the mother’s chest, immediate umbilical cord clamping, suctioning the baby’s nose & mouth, injecting oxytocin (A.K.A. Pitocin or Syntocinon), umbilical cord traction (pulling on the umbilical cord to help deliver the placenta), removing the baby to the nursery
Decision-Making Process
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What types of practitioners attend births?
Obstetricians, family physician (A.K.A. general practitioner), nurse midwife, direct-entry midwife
Unique to CBU: Every lecture has “take-away” ideas and tips to help you make decisions and obtain optimal care for you and your baby!
Disclaimer
Childbirth U is intended to help you make informed decisions about maternity care; however, the information found on this website is not a substitute for professional medical advice. You should consult your physician or midwife before acting on any of the information you find here. While the content of CBU lectures is believed to be true and accurate at the time of publication, we accept no legal responsibility for any errors or omissions that may be made and make no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the content of CBU lectures.