Why delay cord clamping?

Science and Sensibility, the research blog from Lamaze, has an excellently evidence based article on the practice of delayed cord clamping. The article is structured by listing objections, which is a great way to go about learning the benefits, as well as to be prepared to answer to someone's concerns about this practice. Delayed cord clamping is becoming so much better understood and common place. Many Ob and midwife practices in Brooklyn and NYC do this as a matter of protocol. 

Read the full article here. 

Advanced Maternal Age

What does this mean? In the U.S., women who are 35 years and over who are giving birth are considered "Advanced Maternal Age" (AMA). According to the research, only about 15% of women who are giving birth are 35 years are older, however it's hard not to believe that rings true in NYC. I would estimate that about 1/3 of my clients could be categorized as AMA. The important thing to know about this, if you are 35 or over, is that your care provider may apply different policies to you than if you were under 35. Please read this very important article from Evidence Based Birth by Rebekkah Dekker, Mimi Niles, and Alicia Breaky for some well-rearched info on what AMA means in pregnancy:

The Evidence on Advanced Maternal Age

Birth Matters.

I love this article! Read the full text here.

Excerpt below:

"The problem with saying “It doesn’t matter how you give birth” is that if women take that to heart, they may not take the time to educate themselves on their choices or vet potential providers to find the right fit since the birth process doesn’t really matter anyway. Empowerment starts with women educating themselves on the childbirth process and understanding that they are the drivers of that process. Birth attendants are primarily experienced navigators who know what to do if inclement weather hits or if the car breaks down. They should not take the wheel unless there is truly no other choice.

Childbirth is the likely the hardest, most overwhelming thing a woman will ever do, so of course those experiences matter. If you walk away from your birth feeling powerless, that’s important. No matter how your baby ultimately enters the world, how you experience birth and how empowered you feel throughout the process does matter. Let’s stop telling women that it doesn’t."

Using a Mother’s Microbes to Protect Cesarean Babies

"The first germs to colonize a newborn delivered vaginally come almost exclusively from its mother. But the first to reach an infant born by cesarean section come mostly from the environment — particularly bacteria from inaccessible or less-scrubbed areas like lamps and walls, and skin cells from everyone else in the delivery room.

That difference, some experts believe, could influence a child’s lifelong health. Now, in the first study of its kind, researchers on Monday confirmed that a mother’s beneficial microbes can be transferred, at least partially, from her vagina to her baby after a C-section."

Read the full article from the NYT Well Blog here.

Doula Support Could Improve Health Care & Reduce Costs

Well, this one kind of seems like a no-brainer and no big surprise, but read the story on NPR if you need more of a reason to get a doula! An excerpt is below:

" Previous research has shown lower rates of cesarean births, more satisfaction from mothers and better newborn Apgar scores — a measure of a baby's condition at birth — among mothers who use doula care. In fact, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says in guidelines for safe prevention of cesarean births that doula care is "probably underutilized."

This is the first study, however, to show a reduction in preterm births and a net savings for public insurance. Cesarean births — about a third of all U.S. births — cost about twice as much as vaginal births, and the 1 in 10 U.S. infants born preterm (before 37 weeks) incur medical costs 10 times greater than those of full-term infants."

Understanding the Risk of Hemorrhage During Childbirth

I hesitate to put articles up like this on my blog here because if you are pregnant, the last thing you need to read is a scary stuff about giving birth. However, there's a fine line between that and being educated. Personally, I veer towards knowing more, but I know that's not everyone's cup of tea. So read on if you want to know more about this topic, but skip on if you don't!

Read the article: Understanding the Risk of Hemorrhage During Childbirth