Labor induction is a procedure used to stimulate uterine contractions during pregnancy before labor begins naturally. Inducing labor comes with both risks and benefits to both mothers and babies. Now a new Danish study published in the BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology suggests that proactive labor induction can improve perinatal outcomes among […] More
Women — including women with an epidural — who use a peanut-shaped exercise ball during labor give birth more quickly and are half as likely to undergo a cesarean section than women who do not use the ball, says a new study by nurse researchers at Banner Health published in the Journal of Perinatal Education. […] More
Inducing or augmenting labor with pitocin does not increase the risk of autism among children, says a new study presented at The Pregnancy Meeting™, the annual meeting of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, in San Diego, California. Pitocin, a synthetic form of the hormone oxytocin widely used to start or assist the progress of labor, […] More
Previous research on an association between oxytocin during labor and the development of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) produced opposing results. Now a large cohort study in Denmark concludes that medical augmentation of labor does not increase the risk of ADHD in a child. Pitocin, a synthetic form of the hormone oxytocin widely used to start or […] More
Episiotomy occurred in 25 percent of vaginal births in the United States in 2004. However, following the recommendations from various experts for the restricted use of the procedure, episiotomy rates fell between 2006 and 2012. A obstetric procedure, episiotomy is a surgical incision used to enlarge the vaginal opening during the birth of a baby. […] More
Your baby is now the size of a watermelon, measuring between nineteen (19) and twenty-one (21) inches from head to heel and weighing about seven and a half (7.5) pounds. You are in your ninth month of pregnancy. Your pregnancy is considered full term. You are not considered overdue until after the end of week […] More
Your baby is now the size of a pumpkin, measuring between nineteen (19) and twenty-one (21) inches from head to heel and weighing a little over seven (7) pounds. You are in your ninth month of pregnancy. Your pregnancy is considered full term. Your Baby During week 39 of pregnancy, your estimated due date is […] More
Your baby is now the size of a jackfruit in length, measuring between nineteen (19) and twenty-one (21) inches from head to heel and weighing about seven (7) pounds. You are in your ninth month of pregnancy. Your pregnancy is considered full term. Your Baby Your baby is still two weeks away from your estimated […] More
Fifty years ago, epidural anesthesia was used less often, and, as a result, women today on average take three hours longer to deliver their babies. A new study has found that first time mothers today spend 2.6 hours longer in the first stage of labor. The study compared data from 1959 to 1966 and 2002 […] More
While a long labor might sound painful to most women, they can rest assured that their labor likely will not last as long as for Joanna Krzysztonek. The Polish woman chose to lay almost completely upside down while in labor for 75 days after she lost one of her triplets to medical complications. Doctors decided […] More
