A new study in the journal, Birth (11/3/19), compares birth outcomes and maternity care costs for low risk, healthy pregnant women using midwives vs. physicians. Research shows pregnant women cared for by midwives have similar birth outcomes to women cared for by physicians, although experiencing fewer medical procedures. Limited research has assessed cost implications in …
I was excited to present a workshop recently at the Evidence Based Birth Conference in Lexington, Kentucky. Along with my colleague, Jenny Cochran (Director of Embrace Refugee Birth Support in Clarkston, GA), I described the Healthy Moms curriculum we designed for pregnant refugees and immigrants. To address racial and ethnic disparities in maternal health, it …
When healthy, low risk women agree to obstetric interventions recommended by their doctors, it can set the stage for additional interventions, including cesarean surgery. Eugene Declercq, Ph.D, of Birthbythenumbers.org, has analyzed the reasons for the rising culture of obstetric interventions in the U.S. The common reasons given for the nearly 33% cesarean rate in the …
A recent initiative at Medway Hospital in Kent, U.K. found that the incidence of perinatal tearing was reduced by 85% when they changed the instructions to women about pushing during the second stage of labor. Instead of encouraging women to lie on their backs, hold their breath, and push harder, women were told to slow …
Many parents choose a maternity care provider based on recommendations of friends or relatives or from a list provided by their insurance company. If you are a healthy, low risk pregnant person, does it matter whether you choose a physician or midwife to care for you during pregnancy? Let’s look at satisfaction with maternity care …
Providers now define active labor as six centimeters cervical dilation and encourage low risk women to labor at home during early labor. This is because when women are admitted to the hospital when their cervix is only three or four centimeters dilated there is a greater likelihood of obstetric interventions, such as Pitocin augmentation (artificial …
When your perceptions shift, the story of your birth shifts. You have the power to transform your perceptions and open yourself to a new world view. Birth is a series of objective biochemical, physiological, and anatomical processes that unfold over time. Hormones trigger contractions. The muscle fibers in the uterus pull the cervix open and …
