Midwife & Lactation Consultant
Need more evidence and reasons to hire a doula? Or want to explain to someone else why you are hiring a doula, or why they might want to consider hiring a doula? Watch this video from Evidence Based Birth for a rundown on what we do and how we can help birthing families.
Watch the video from Evidence Based Birth here.
So happy to see this study and the article!!! It's long overdue. Read on below for an excerpt, and click on the link to read the full text, explaining the benefits of a midwife, the research, and the politics.
Now a groundbreaking study, the first systematic look at what midwives can and can’t do in the states where they practice, offers new evidence that empowering them could significantly boost maternal and infant health. The five-year effort by researchers in Canada and the U.S., published Wednesday, found that states that have done the most to integrate midwives into their health care systems, including Washington, New Mexico and Oregon, have some of the best outcomes for mothers and babies. Conversely, states with some of the most restrictive midwife laws and practices — including Alabama, Ohio and Mississippi — tend to do significantly worse on key indicators of maternal and neonatal well-being.
“We have been able to establish that midwifery care is strongly associated with lower interventions, cost-effectiveness and improved outcomes,” said lead researcher Saraswathi Vedam, an associate professor of midwifery who heads the Birth Place Lab at the University of British Columbia.
Read the full article here: https://www.propublica.org/article/midwives-study-maternal-neonatal-care
Are vaginal exams (also called pelvic exams, or cervical checks) necessary during pregnancy and labor? They can certainly be helpful at specific times, such as for being admitted to the hospital or birthing center when you're in labor, if you've gone past your due date, if an induction is needed, if there is a concern about labor progress, or perhaps a question of the baby's position during labor. What about checks during pregnancy, or during labor - when everything seems to be progressing normally, and the mother is fine and the baby is fine? This is your choice to make, based on the pros and cons, your care provider's recommendation, and your feelings, opinions, and intuition. More information on vaginal exams is below, from a few different sources. Read, be informed, and decide for yourself - based on you, not anyone else.
Evidence on Cervical Checks at the End of Pregnancy
Pelvic Exams Near Term: Benefit or Risk?
Vaginal Examinations: A Symptom of a Cervical-centric Birth Culture
