If this is your first baby, unless you have a medical condition that warrants closer monitoring, you don’t want to be in the hospital until you are in active labor. Let’s look at why admission in early labor could theoretically be a problem and the evidence supporting...
If laboring in warm water or water birth sounds appealing, I have good news. A large review combining data from multiple studies found labor and birth in a deep tub or birthing pool to be safe and beneficial. Let’s look at the details. Summary of the Review What did...
“A revision of existing active labor expectations . . . is warranted, and efforts to do so must supersede efforts to change labor to fit existing expectations.” Neal 2010, p. 31713 “How long is normal labor?” is a crucial question because doctors determine when...
Technology does not enhance a natural process that is working. It can only mar or destroy it.— David Stewart The Five Standards for Safe Childbearing Immediate umbilical cord clamping perfectly exemplifies that truth. In this post, we’ll look at: What happens at the...
When it comes to comparing outcomes with a midwife versus a doctor, research shows that in women with uncomplicated pregnancies, midwives are the better bet. Let’s look at the details of a recent study. Once we do that, I’ll explain why midwives do better than...
“Plenty of IV Fluids May Make Childbirth Safer, Easier,” enthuses the Philadelphia Inquirer, over a systematic review (a “study of studies” on a particular topic) finding that infusing IV fluids at 250 mL per hour instead of the usual 125 resulted in shorter labors...
A Lamaze International internal e-newsletter points us to a new systematic review, meaning a study of studies on a particular issue, of nutritive oral intake vs. ice chips or water alone. In the interest of full disclosure, the review has its weaknesses, but...
If you’ve ever wondered how much could be accomplished if a hospital made a concerted effort to reduce cesareans—and not because an insurance company held a metaphorical gun to its head—this study is for you. EurekAlert reports that Boston’s Beth Deaconess Hospital...
A study in the most recent issue of Birth provides eye-opening illumination on non-medical reasons for high cesarean rates (Kennedy 2016). Investigators at Yale’s med-school affiliated hospital conducted in-depth interviews eliciting opinions on how the institution...
“The great tragedy of Science: the slaying of a beautiful hypothesis by an ugly fact.” Thomas Huxley Reverberating through the internet is an article by a group of scientists theorizing that cesarean availability has altered the course of human evolution, resulting in...
The first in Henci’s new Take Charge of Your Birth Series, Labor Pain: What’s Your Best Strategy? delivers up-to-date access to the best medical research plus practical strategies for developing your plan and putting it into action. Also available in audiobook.
