Research and resources for perinatal professionals.
May 01, 2024 | by: James R. Lothian, Ph.D.
Dr. James R. Lothian, Dr. Judy Lothian's husband, shares his insights on what guided her thinking and how she approached her research.
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December 07, 2022 | by: Ken McGee, PT, DPT
Emptying the bladder after giving birth can be difficult. Despite having a full bladder, a person might sit down and just release drops, if that. Sometimes there is a feeling that urine is left over inside the bladder. Some studies suggest that about 10% of vaginal births are affected by bladder voiding dysfunction (Perú Biurrun et al., 2020). Here are some of my top tips as a pelvic floor physical therapist to support voiding after giving birth.
September 14, 2022 | by: Ken McGee, PT, DPT
As the saying goes, if you don’t know your options then you don’t have options. This is certainly true when it comes to pushing during childbirth in the United States and many other places across the globe. Birthing people are often encouraged to hold their breath and sustain a pushing effort for ten seconds, repeated three times per contraction. However, recent evidence points to the alternative option of breathing during pushing efforts as being better protective of the pelvic floor. Childbirth educators can support pregnant families by informing them of the benefits of breathing during pushing. This is another post in the The Body in Birth Series.
March 16, 2022 | by: Sharon Muza
There are many benefits to being a member of Lamaze International. You do not have to be a Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator. You may join Lamaze and receive the same benefits as people who hold the LCCE credentials. You can read all about the member benefits and join Lamaze International from here.
While I appreciate and utilize so many of the valuable benefits that are provided with my Lamaze membership, I really celebrate access to The Cochrane Library, a collection of databases containing independent evidence to inform healthcare decision-making.
August 05, 2021 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, LCCE, FACCE, CD/BDT(DONA), CLE
August is all about lactation! August 1-7 is World Breastfeeding* Week, August 8th - 14th is Native Breastfeeding Week, August 25th - 31st is Black Breastfeeding Week and in the USA, the entire month recognized as National Breastfeeding Month. Today’s research review summarizes a study that examined nursing and the passage of COVID-19 antibodies from parents who received a COVI-19 vaccination after birth and during bodyfeeding.
July 16, 2021 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, LCCE, FACCE, CD/BDT(DONA), CLE
Humor in the health care setting can improve the health and the well-being of patients. When someone laughs or experiences a funny situation, their stress hormones go down, their blood pressure lowers, they experience less pain and their immune system gets stronger. Additionally, it builds trust between the people who are laughing. While these are good things to have happen during a labor and birth, if possible, letting families experience these benefits during their childbirth education can go a long way toward a positive birth experience.
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.
April 06, 2021 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, LCCE, FACCE, CD/BDT(DONA), CLE
In 2019, 754 people lost their life from maternal causes in the United States. The maternal mortality rate for 2019 was 20.1 deaths per 100,000 live births. In 2018, 658 people died from maternal causes and the maternal mortality rate was 17.4 per 100,000.
2019 brought 96 more deaths and a significantly higher maternal mortality rate.
The United States continues to have the worst maternal mortality rate of all the world’s industrialized countries. It is estimated that 66% of the maternal deaths that occurred in 2019 were preventable.
December 11, 2020 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, CD/BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE
In 2017, a travel ban targeting people from countries that were predominately Muslim was instituted through an Executive Order signed by the President of the United States. A newly published paper indicates that this Executive Order can be associated with an increase in preterm births for pregnant people from the seven targeted countries who were living in the United States at the time.
October 22, 2020 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, CD/BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE
Maternal and Neonatal Outcomes in Hospital-Based Deliveries With Water Immersion was a retrospective study that was primarily seeking to compare NICU admissions for newborns born in water versus NICU admissions for those born on land. Additionally, the researchers looked at some secondary outcomes such adverse neonatal diagnoses, maternal infections and perineal lacerations.
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