Featured

Unassisted Childbirth
By Emily Jones

What is unassisted childbirth? Put simply, unassisted childbirth, or UC as it is sometimes referred to, is giving birth without the assistance of a paid birth professional. Everyone has heard stories of unplanned UCs - the woman who births in the car before she gets to the hospital, the teenager who gives birth in a bathroom stall at a school dance, and many other similar stories. What not everyone has heard, though, are the increasing numbers of stories of planned UCs. With the medical community and government in the United States increasing restrictions and pressure to limit women’s birthing choices outside of the hospital, more and more women are turning to a more “radical” idea: planned unassisted childbirth.

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Women's Health

Research

A Nashville Midwife Lists Homebirth Studies
By Danell Swim

A list of studies which illustrate whether homebirth is safe, or hospital birth is safe. Click the link for a full list. Quite impressive!

Outcomes of planned home births with certified professional midwives: large prospective study in North America
Johnson and Daviss, British Medical Journal, June 2005
“Conclusions: Planned home birth for low risk women in North America using certified professional midwives was associated with lower rates of medical intervention but similar intrapartum and neonatal mortality to that of low risk hospital births in the United States.”
Answers to questions about the BMJ CPM 2000 study

Outcomes of planned home births versus planned hospital births after regulation of midwifery in British Columbia
Janssen et al, Canadian Medical Association Journal, Feb. 2002
“Interpretation: There was no increased maternal or neonatal risk associated with planned home birth under the care of a regulated midwife.”

Outcomes of intended home births in nurse-midwifery practice: a prospective descriptive study
Murphy and Fullerton, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Sept. 1998
“Conclusion: Home birth can be accomplished with good outcomes under the care of qualified practitioners and within a system that facilitates transfer to hospital care when necessary. Intrapartal mortality during intended home birth is concentrated in postdates pregnancies with evidence of meconium passage.”

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Editorials

Due Date for VBAC: Not an Expiration Date

Being a woman with a prior cesarean, I’ve become extremely supportive of women who choose a vaginal birth after a cesarean (VBAC) like I did. It seems that my support is often falling on deaf ears, as time and again, women are coerced into repeat... Read more »

By Danell Swim | April 27, 2008 | 10 Comments
C-Birth: The Trendy New Term

Now that 31% of babies are born by caesarean section, more women are becoming increasingly defensive about their choice to have primary and repeat c-sections. And because so many women now make this choice, there is a massive movement to normalize caesareans. When... Read more »

By Danell Swim | April 23, 2008 | 9 Comments
A Necessary Evil

One statement I think nearly everyone can agree on is that we are grateful to live in a time of such medical technology and advances that so many lives can be saved, and the quality of life can be improved. Even natural childbirth advocates, as strongly... Read more »

By Emily Jones | April 21, 2008 | 2 Comments

Internet News

FairLady on Dads in Delivery Room

Should reluctant fathers be coerced into witnessing their children’s birth? Absolutely not, says a growing body of medical opinion. Michael, who is a competent, loving and assured father of three, attended the delivery of his first-born child because... Read more »

May 5, 2008 | 2 Comments
Tragic Induction Nearly Kills Mother - Baby in NICU

Melissa called us yesterday at about 1:35 p.m. to let us know that she was going to the hospital to have labor induced. This had been something they were trying to avoid but given the circumstances, it was the most prudent thing they could do. I was out... Read more »

April 30, 2008 | 3 Comments
“Long Labors” from Australian Midwife

I have spent the past few days with a woman (hence no blog entries) and have had lots of time contemplating the modern obstetric attitude labour length and the active management . Active management of labour was brought in initially by Odriscoll in 1973... Read more »

April 25, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Birth News

Teen Walks to Hospital With Baby Still Attached by Umbilical Cord

Xochitl Parra’s newborn was attached to the umbilical cord during a four-block walk to St. Mary Medical Center after the 17-year-old gave birth Wednesday in her home. With her baby boy resting peacefully in her arms, Parra on Friday described the... Read more »

May 5, 2008 | 2 Comments
Butcher of Bega Faces more Accusations (warning: Graphic)

Horrific new allegations involving the deaths of 15 mothers and babies have been levelled against the New South Wales doctor dubbed the “Butcher of Bega”. Nicknamed for the southern coastal town in which he allegedly mutilated and sexually... Read more »

May 5, 2008 | 2 Comments
Brangelina Settle in France for Birth

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have flown to France to prepare for the birth of their rumoured twins. The couple and their four children arrived in Nice this week via private jet, with three nannies and two security guards in tow. Their time in France will... Read more »

May 1, 2008 | Leave a Comment
As Doctors Get a Life, Strains Show

U.S. medicine is in the middle of a cultural revolution, as young physicians intent on balancing work and family challenge the assumption that a doctor should be available to treat patients around the clock. Walter Cheng, 32 years old, is in the profession’s... Read more »

April 30, 2008 | 2 Comments
FLDS Woman Gives Birth at Hospital

The count of FLDS children in Texas custody increased by one Tuesday after a female whose age is in dispute gave birth to a boy at a San Marcos, Texas, hospital. Pamela Jeffs delivered a healthy boy around noon at Central Texas Medical Center, where she... Read more »

April 30, 2008 | 2 Comments

Health News

French Women Continue to Drink Alcohol While Pregnant

More than half of women in France continue to drink alcohol during their pregnancies, according to a new French study. However, the researchers also found that most of these women are uninformed about the risks to their babies’ health. “Our results... Read more »

May 5, 2008 | 1 Comment
UK: Number of Drug Addicted Mums Doubles in 5 years!

The number of babies born to drug addicted mothers has almost doubled in the last five years, it has been revealed. Last year there were 1,970 women who were addicted to drugs at the time of the birth, compared to 1,057 back in 2003. Of those 1,970 women... Read more »

May 5, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Thin pregnant women at higher risk of severe vomiting

Women who are underweight when they become pregnant have an increased risk of severe, potentially dangerous nausea and vomiting, researchers said. Many women suffer morning sickness in the early months of pregnancy, but a small percentage have a condition... Read more »

May 1, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Study: Low-Glycemic Diet Inconclusive in Preventing Gestational Diabetes

One of the more troubling threats to a healthy, uncomplicated pregnancy is a metabolic disorder known as gestational diabetes mellitus. The condition affects an estimated 4 percent of mothers in the United States, and up to 14 percent worldwide. Pregnancy-related... Read more »

May 1, 2008 | Leave a Comment