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...
Routine continuous electronic fetal monitoring, a.k.a., cardiotocography, during labor continues to be the norm in labor & delivery units despite being a colossal failure, and the obstetric community knows it. This is a shocking, but provable, statement. To do...
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...
“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 Lancet commentary trying to explain away the findings of a trial of computerized interpretation of fetal monitoring tracings popped up in CBU’s Google alerts, but we get ahead of ourselves. Let’s start with a look at the trial. The trialists hypothesized that: “a...
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...
Abstract: Obstetrician-gynecologists . . . can help women meet their goals for labor and birth by using techniques that are associated with minimal interventions and high rates of patient satisfaction. Many common obstetric practices are of limited or uncertain...
Italian obstetricians report that replacing standard management of slow labor with a physiologic approach greatly reduced cesarean deliveries and the use of other medical interventions in 1st-time mothers. They conducted a before-and-after study in 419 1st-time...
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.
