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  • Pregnancy Eviction Notice
    in

    Proactive Labor Induction Can Improve Perinatal Outcomes

    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

  • Pregnant Woman Sitting on Exercise Ball
    in

    Exercise Balls Reduce Labor Time and Cesarean Sections

    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

  • Pitocin
    in

    Study Finds No Link Between Induced or Augmented Labor and Autism

    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

  • Nurse Administering IV
    in

    Study Finds No Link Between Oxytocin and ADHD

    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

  • Medical Scissors
    in

    Episiotomy Rates Declining

    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

  • Lotus Water Birth
    in

    Labor Lasts Three Hours Longer Now Than in the 1960s

    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

  • Prenatal Pregnancy Care
    in

    Woman Opts for 75-Day Labor to Save Twins

    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