December 14, 2021 | by: Tanya Cawthorne
A few weeks ago, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) published their annual Australia’s Mothers and Baby Report. The report is a collection of national perinatal data from the previous two years, which in effect means that the 2021 report contains 2019 data, and therefore we are yet to see the full impact of COVID-19 on birth outcomes.
Anecdotally, many birth professionals (midwives, doulas, and childbirth educators in particular) have noted with concern a significant increase in birth interventions - particularly induction of labour, episiotomy, instrumental birth (vacuum and forceps delivery) and cesarean section - with little to no improvement in birth outcomes. The data now backs up what we all suspected was happening and this is not good news for birthing people in Australia.
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October 27, 2018 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, LCCE, FACCE, CD/BDT(DONA), CLE
The Lancet Series shows that the global rate of cesarean birth has doubled in the past 15 years to 21%, and is increasing annually by 4%. It is estimated that there are 6.2 million unnecessary cesareans done each year. China and Brazil together make up half of this number.
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July 11, 2017 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, LCCE, FACCE, CD/BDT(DONA), CLE
New research released today is the first study of its kind to link management of unit culture, nursing, and patient flow to maternal health outcomes. Does the practice style and management of the Labor & Delivery unit of your chosen birth location determine your risk of cesarean?
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June 08, 2017 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, LCCE, FACCE, CD/BDT(DONA), CLE
This study just published in the Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, and Neonatal Nursing (JOGNN); Variation in Cesarean Birth Rates by Labor and Delivery Nurses examines how individual nurses can influence the mode of birth (cesarean or vaginal) of patients in their care.
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June 09, 2016 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, LCCE, FACCE, CD/BDT(DONA), CLE
The National Vital Statistics System, a division of the National Center for Health Statistics, released preliminary 2015 birth data for the United States, and we can consider the news to be stable if not positive in most areas. We highlight ten important stats for you today.
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