“Our evidence suggests that mainstream obstetric science follows mainstream obstetric practice. A patient and expectant approach to birth…where all is considered normal until proved otherwise, produces a science that proves intervention to be unnecessary....
Science & Sensibility interviews Rebecca Dekker about her new “Evidence Based Birth” post on the issues of pregnancy and birth in women aged 35 or more. The interview provides an overview of the article’s contents along with context as well as Dekker’s suggestions...
Some months ago, Henci deconstructed the prepublication manuscript of a systematic review concluding that elective induction at 40 weeks had benefits and didn’t increase the cesarean rate for Science & Sensibility. Now the study has been published and is once...
Using a balloon catheter to ripen the cervix* in preparation for labor induction results in similar rates of cesarean, chorioamnionitis (inflammation of the fetal membranes), and low Apgar scores, and as with misoprostol, the cost is low. A Swedish study compared...
A Medscape article reporting on a randomized controlled trial claims that induction with an unfavorable cervix doesn’t increase cesarean rates, but let’s look closer. Investigators randomly allocated 162 1st-time mothers with a Bishop score of 5 or less (a 1-10 scale...
According to a study soon to be published in Birth, epidural fentanyl and IV oxytocin have dose-dependent negative effects on instinctive newborn ability to suckle. Investigators blinded to whether women had epidurals, IV oxytocin, or both evaluated videos of 63...
"Perceptions of fetal size influence interventions in pregnancy, BU study finds," reads the EurekAlert article title. This is hardly breaking news, as every other study of suspected macrosomia has found the same thing; however, this latest study confirms the role of...
German investigators explored the relationship between labor induction and fetal death between 2005 and 2012 in 5,300,000 births in order to determine whether a policy of late term induction decreased fetal death rates. The induction rate rose over the time period...
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.
