VBACs are more likely successful if you call the midwife

A new study shows that VBACs (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean) are more likely to be successful if a midwife provides the care instead of an obstetrician. 

You can read a portion of the abstract of the study here, and an excerpt is below:

Background

Research is yet to identify effective and safe interventions to increase the vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) rate. This research aimed to compare intended and actual VBAC rates before and after implementation of midwife-led antenatal care for women with one previous cesarean birth and no other risk factors in a large, tertiary maternity hospital in England.

Conclusions

Implementation of midwife-led antenatal care for women with one previous cesarean offers a safe and effective alternative to traditional obstetrician-led antenatal care, and is associated with increased rates of intended and actual VBAC.

Can a midwife administer pain medication?

For a hospital birth, whether or not a midwife can administer pain medication depends on what kind of pain medication we're talking about. For a home birth, it depends on the midwife. Read the article from Choices in Childbirth to get more information:

Can A Midwife Administer Pain Medication? By Barbara Sellers, CNM

Home Birth: The Latest Article with Some Statistics

If you haven't come across it before, Lamaze's blog, Science and Sensibility, is a great way to stay up to date on recent studies and new information in the maternal/perinatal health world. I recently came across this article and wanted to share it.

Natural Hospital Birth

As a birth doula serving clients who live primarily in Brooklyn and Manhattan, I work with many women who see both OBs (often low intervention practices) and midwives in the hospital setting. However, many of my clients are looking for a holistic birth experience, or a natural birth experience, within a setting that typically is not set up to accommodate un-medicated births. The odds are generally stacked against women hoping to have intervention-free births in a hospital. BUT, as a doula, I have witnessed many women successfully do this! Here are a few resources on how to work towards, or achieve some version of, a natural hospital birth:

Video

Book

Ina May Gaskin Documentary

Looking for a birth-related movie to watch? Here's one: a documentary on the famous Ina May Gaskin, author of Ina May's Guide to Childbirth.

Birth Story Ina May Gaskin and The Farm Midwives ( 2013 )

"Ina May Gaskin and The Farm Midwives captures a spirited group of women who taught themselves how to deliver babies on a 1970s hippie commune. Today as nearly one third of all US babies are born via C-section, they fight to protect their knowledge and to promote respectful, safe maternity practices all over the globe. From the backs of their technicolor school buses, these pioneers rescued American midwifery from extinction, changed the way a generation approached pregnancy, and filmed nearly everything they did. With unprecedented access to the midwives' archival video collection, as well as modern day footage of life at the alternative intentional community where they live, this documentary shows childbirth the way most people have never seen it--unadorned, unabashed, and awe-inspiring."