The Lamaze Institute for Normal Birth was launched to support initiatives that provide credible, relevant and useful information about normal birth to new and expectant parents and childbirth professionals.
Forming the foundation of the Lamaze Institute for Normal Birth are the Six Care Practices that Support Normal Birth (revised in 2007). These evidence-based practices, adapted from the World Health Organization, promote, support and protect normal birth:
- Labor begins on its own
- Freedom of movement throughout labor
- Continuous labor support
- No routine interventions
- Spontaneous pushing in upright or gravity-neutral positions
- No separation of mother and baby after birth, with unlimited opportunities for breastfeeding
The Lamaze Institute for Normal Birth supports community-based efforts to promote normal birth by providing grants and organizational resources to Birth Networks, grassroots organizations that provide pregnancy, birth and parenting support and resources to families.
The Institute also works closely with other organizations and individuals who support normal birth and conducts research and education to further the understanding of the benefits and physiology of normal birth to mother and baby.