BACKGROUND Humanizing birth means considering women's values, beliefs, and feelings and respecting their dignity and autonomy during the birthing process. Reducing over-medicalized childbirths, empowering women and the use of evidence-based maternity practice are strategies that promote humanized birth. Nevertheless, the territory of birth and its socio-cultural values and beliefs concerning ch...

In narratives of displaced Karen women from Burma, both before and after resettlement in Australia, women framed their birthing experiences with those of persecution and displacement. Although grateful for the security of resettlement in Australia, social inclusion was negligible and women's birthing experiences occurred in that context. Women described the impact of the lack of interpreting se...

AIMS Fasting plasma glucose (FPG) concentration measured at the first prenatal visit is a predictor of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM); however, whether this test is indicative of fetal growth has not been clarified. Thus, the purpose of this study was to determine whether birth weight and birth length were related to FPG levels at the first prenatal visit. MATERIALS AND METHODS Research ...

Background: Intrapartum ultrasound (ITU) techniques have been described only in maternal semi-recumbent position. However, other birthing positions, such as side-lying, are more comfortable for many mothers. The present study aimed to test the hypothesis that ITU measurements can be obtained lateral positions during second stage of labor. Methods: A single-center, prospective observational was ...

Starting a family at key career stage comes cost to birthing parents — and many end up leaving the profession as result.

In 1992 the House of Commons Select Health Committee's report on maternity services recommended that all hospitals should provide women with the "option of a birthing pool where this is practicable." A subsequent surveillance study of all NHS maternity units between 1994 and 1996 found that 0.6% of all deliveries in England and Wales occurred in water. Rawal and colleagues have suggested that w...

Since 2000, 17 hospitals in BC have ceased offering intrapartum services. During 2004–2005, 2806 women from rural BC communities gave birth in referral centres, representing 7.1% of all BC deliveries.4 In some instances, women must leave their home communities weeks before their due date to avoid the risk of local delivery without access to the appropriate maternity services. According to inter...

INTRODUCTION In 2004, the Midwives Alliance of North America's (MANA's) Division of Research developed a Web-based data collection system to gather information on the practices and outcomes associated with midwife-led births in the United States. This system, called the MANA Statistics Project (MANA Stats), grew out of a widely acknowledged need for more reliable data on outcomes by intended pl...