Theme: Drugs In Labor
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Off-label use of misoprostol (Cytotec) for labor induction has been steadily increasing for 10 years, even though this use is approved neither by the U.S. [FDA], other national drug regulatory agencies, the pharmaceutical industry, the Cochrane Library nor a number of national obstetric organizations Read more…. Adverse Events Following Misoprostol Induction of Labor
My soul is flooded with grief. My frustration overwhelms me. I cry for countless mothers and babies—for the births that could be. I am overwhelmed because I have felt the strong light of a powerful birth. Read more…. Drugs in Labor
The International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) and the Federation of Gynecologists and Obstetricians (FIGO) recently made a clandestine and potentially dangerous decision about midwifery practice. Read more…. ICM and Hemorrhage
This article in Spanish is excerpted from the book, Voices of Maya Midwives: Oral Histories of Practicing Traditional Midwives from the Mam Region of Guatemala. Este artículo fue extraído del libro, “Voces de las comadronas mayas” Read more…. Antonina Sánchez Méndez
Photo by Khoa Pham
While driving, I imagine myself a hundred times providing the services I think they expect from me. They probably want me to give my expertise and remain an outsider. I arrive just after dawn. The children and their nanny are asleep. There is fruit on the table. I haven’t eaten a thing for two days.
Photo by Luis Ordóñez
Esquipulas, Guatemala
Antonina Sanchez Mendez was born in 1952 in Guatemala. As with most women of her culture, her days are filled with physical labor. She has seven children and 11 grandchildren and is deeply connected to her community. She was 33 years old when she began her career as a midwife.
Photo by Diana Polekhina
Protecting mothers and babies involves prioritising models of care that value drug-free labour and birth and that support laboring women in achieving this. The drugs discussed in this paper include opiates, inhaled analgesics, epidurals, sedatives and oxytocin.
Photo by Josh Bean
Maternal to Child Transmission (MTCT) is the primary mode of transmission of HIV to children. A pregnant woman needs to learn about MTCT and how to prevent it. If we care for HIV-positive pregnant women, we must commit to keep current in order to offer them and their babies the very best information and care.
Read more…. HIV & Pregnancy: What More Can We Do for HIV-Positive Women?
Photo by Jon Sailer
The nesting instinct takes a labouring woman into a quiet, unstimulating space so she can progress without interruption; it makes her cross when she is being hindered from doing the work she must do; and it will also allow her to change her plan, to move her nest, if she believes that is needed.
Disturbing reports about the risks of cesarean delivery have been issued for years. Recently yet another has been suggested: an increased risk of unexplained stillbirth late in pregnancies that follow a pregnancy ending in cesarean delivery.
Read more…. Marion’s Message: Another Good Reason to Prevent Cesarean Section
Photo by Daniel Thomas
“Evidence Supports Vaginal Birth.” I read the headline over and over. Do we need “evidenced-based” research to prove that vaginal birth is how we were designed to reproduce? What is wrong with this picture? What can we do to reverse this nightmare?
Photo by Ursula Castillo
Stress hormones inhibit the release and action of the hormone necessary to induce and maintain effective uterine contractions during labor and delivery. A good understanding of physiological processes leads the midwife to ensure that nobody is under the effect of adrenaline in the environment of a laboring woman.
