The Lancet has devoted an issue to maternal health that includes a systematic review of maternity care practice guidelines entitled: “Beyond too little, too late and too much, too soon: a pathway towards evidence-based, respectful maternity care worldwide.” It joins a...
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Skin-to-Skin Contact & Early Breastfeeding Reduce Excessive Bleeding
The current issue of Midwifery Matters summarizes a study of the effects of having the baby skin-to-skin after birth and breastfeeding initiation soon after birth on postpartum blood loss of 500 ml or more. Turning to the study itself, investigators analyzed the birth...
Labor Drugs Have Adverse Effect on Newborn Ability to Suckle
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...