Research and resources for perinatal professionals.
July 07, 2021 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, LCCE, FACCE, CD/BDT(DONA), CLE
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, in collaboration with the Society for Maternal Fetal Medicine, recently updated their recommendations on the timing of medically indicated late-preterm and early-term deliveries. The recommendations are based on placental, fetal and maternal complications. Late-preterm or early term refers to a delivery before 39 weeks and 0 days gestation.
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June 29, 2021 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, CD/BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE
As PRIDE month, which celebrates the LGBTQIA+ population worldwide, draws to a close, I wanted to end this month with an interview with Simon Adriane Ellis, MSN, CNM, ARNP, FACNM, the 2021 recipient of the Excellence in Leadership & Innovation Award (formerly named the Kitty Ernst award) given by the American College of Nurse-Midwives. This award honors an exceptional, relatively new CNM/CM who has demonstrated innovative, creative endeavors in midwifery and/or women's health clinical practice, education, administration, or research.
June 22, 2021 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, LCCE, FACCE, CD/BDT(DONA), CLE
In the United States and around the globe, June is PRIDE Month, a time to recognize, center and celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community and their families. (Not sure what all those initials stand for, check out this handy reference guide.) The New York Times ran an article earlier this month that was applicable to childbirth educators, perinatal professionals and health care providers who work with birthing and postpartum people during the childbearing year.
Some L.G.B.T.Q. Parents Reject the Names ‘Mommy’ and ‘Daddy’” addresses the importance of families having their parenting roles and corresponding names for those roles recognized and respected. Families in 2021 are diverse and not everyone identifies as a mother or father.
May 29, 2021 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, CD/BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE
This month’s Brilliant Activities for Birth Educators idea is something that can be done both in person and in a virtual class format. As things begin to normalize in the United States and some other places around the world, educators may be dipping their toes back into an in-person format and looking for new ideas to introduce in to the classroom. I have even heard from a few educators that they are offering both in-person and virtual in the same class. That really levels things up! This Brilliant Activities for Birth Educators activity works for whatever format you are holding your classes and helps to create awareness and nurture decision making skills in expectant families. To find all the free Brilliant Activities for Birth Educators’ ideas that have been published on the blog, follow this link.
May 25, 2021 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, LCCE, FACCE, CD/BDT(DONA), CLE
Late last month, U.S. News & World Report announced that in the fall of 2021, they will be publishing the first of what will be a regular release of the “Best Hospitals for Maternity” in the United States. Pregnant consumers currently do not have easy access to information that can help them to make informed choices about which health care providers and facilities to choose to receive care from during their pregnancy, birth and postpartum period. Many expectant families make their decisions as a result of proximity to home or work, locations on a specific health insurance list, or a history of having received previous care from that person or hospital. Families are not easily able to find and use the information they need to select providers and hospitals based on the quality of care they and their baby(ies) are likely to receive.
April 27, 2021 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, LCCE, FACCE, CD/BDT(DONA), CLE
As maternal-infant health professionals, we must identify our own biases and the oppressive policies and systems in the environments and institutions that we work and practice in. I would like to recommend a very engaging and thorough free online Diversity Science course developed by Diversity Science titled ‘Dignity in Pregnancy and Childbirth Project.” I recently had the opportunity to work through the three modules that make up the course and found it to be a well organized, thoughtful, and effective presentation that invited me to consider my beliefs and behavior. This work and course development is led by Rachel Hardeman, PhD, MPH, and Diversity Science, and is funded by the California Health Care Foundation in response to strong evidence of racial inequalities in perinatal care and outcomes.
February 14, 2019 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, LCCE, FACCE, CD/BDT(DONA), CLE
As childbirth educators, we know how important it can be to have a loved one be a supportive and engaged participant in the labor and birth process. Educators can drop in little activities to help foster that connection. Here are six ideas to try in class.
January 28, 2019 | by: Tanya Strusberg, LCCE, FACCE
Tanya Strusberg interviews Dr. Rachel Reed, author of "Why Induction Matters" and The Midwife Thinking Blog about the impact of induction on people's birth experiences today.
November 20, 2018 | by: Henci Goer, BA
Effect of Immediate vs Delayed Pushing on Rates of Spontaneous Vaginal Delivery Among Nulliparous Women Receiving Neuraxial Analgesia: A Randomized Clinical Trial - a deeper dive to see if its conclusions hold up to closer scrutiny.
September 27, 2018 | by: Mindy A. Cockeram, LCCE
This month's Brilliant Activities for Birth Educators post is all about positions that a laboring person can use during the first stage (labor) part of birth. Learn about UFOs for labor (upright, forward-leaning and open) in this class activity.
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