Research and resources for perinatal professionals.
January 23, 2020 | by: Henci Goer
What are we to make of a new Swedish trial in which women were allocated by chance to either routine induction at 41 weeks or expectant management until 42 weeks (Wennerholm 2019)? The trial was stopped midway through because it had already shown a statistically significant increase, meaning unlikely to be due to chance, in perinatal mortality in the expectant management arm of the trial, and routine induction hadn’t increased the cesarean rate. You may be thinking, “It has long been established that 41-week induction is the better strategy for just these reasons. The Swedish trial just adds to the pile of studies finding in its favor.”
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September 03, 2019 | by: Henci Goer, BA
The great difficulty of attempting to determine comparative perinatal and neonatal mortality with home vs. hospital birth is amassing a large enough dataset of appropriately designed studies. In their review, “Perinatal or neonatal mortality among women who intend at the onset of labour to give birth at home compared to women of low obstetrical risk who intend to give birth in hospital: A systematic review and meta-analyses,” Hutton & colleagues (2019) overcome these difficulties with an ingenious study selection and analysis strategy.
July 30, 2019 | by: Henci Goer, BA
“To VBAC or not to VBAC” continues to be the question. “Mode of delivery after a previous cesarean birth, and associated maternal and neonatal morbidity,” a recent analysis of Canadian national data between 2003 and 2014, compared maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity after planned vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC ) versus repeat cesarean and concluded (Young 2018): “Although absolute rates of adverse outcomes are low, attempted vaginal birth after cesarean delivery continues to be associated with higher relative rates of severe morbidity and mortality in mothers and infants.” However, things aren’t always as they appear to be at first glance. Let’s take a closer look.
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.
August 14, 2018 | by: Henci Goer, BA
Henci Goer examines the just-released ARRIVE Trial to determine if there is new information compared to the study abstract that raises more questions or answers the old ones? What should birth professionals understand and share with consumers about the evidence to induce at 39 weeks?
February 13, 2018 | by: Henci Goer, BA
Author and evidence-based maternity care expert Henci Goer, a frequent Science & Sensibility contributor, examines the abstract of the ARRIVE Trial (the only published material from the study available at this time) and shares with S&S readers her careful examination of the study's conclusions.
November 02, 2017 | by: Henci Goer, BA
Making the rounds on the internet is a report of a new study that supposedly shows that epidurals dont slow labor or increase instrumental vaginal or cesarean delivery. Henci Goer reviews the research.
May 16, 2017 | by: Henci Goer, BA
The number of families that are choosing community birth (home or freestanding birth center) is increasing every year. What can healthy low-risk people do to avoid the interventions that make choosing a hospital birth potentially less safe for this specific population?
February 02, 2017 | by: Henci Goer, BA
Laboring down - is it a good idea? Recent literature seems to indicate that it increases complications for both parent and baby, but is this conclusion based on good evidence? Researcher and writer Henci Goer takes a look at what the current research actually tells us on the topic of laboring down,
September 22, 2016 | by: Henci Goer, BA
The advance publication of an analysis of United States maternal mortality data back in August created a stir that has been reverberating through the internet ever since, spurred on by the publication of other relevant studies and a report during the same time period.
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