Research and resources for perinatal professionals.
April 23, 2021 | by: Mindy Cockeram, LCCE
Tuesday, in Connecting The Dots, in Part I of The Impact of Common Labor Interventions on Newborn Weight Loss and Breast/Chestfeeding Cessation, we examined how the use of analgesics for pain relief, Pitocin for induction and a large IV fluid load delivered throughout labor, can lead to breast/chestfeeding challenges for new parents in the first few hours and days of life.
Today, in Part II, we examine the appropriate timing of a newborn’s baseline weight assessment. When, after birth, should a newborn’s baseline weight be established? Using a weight that may have been impacted by labor interventions can hinder maternal breastfeeding confidence and skew pediatric goals for normal newborn weight gain. We also look at an evidence based tool for determining if weight loss really falls into the supplementation zone.
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April 20, 2021 | by: Mindy Cockeram, LCCE
How many parents have you met that experienced the following birth scenario: Labor began with an induced labor using Pitocin (UK-Syntocinon), an epidural for pain relief and a long pushing stage or even an unplanned cesarean? The parents felt overwhelmed with joy when the baby was born and relief that the labor was over. As the new emotions settled in, the next stage of parenting began - breast/chestfeeding a baby on cue around the clock. Discharged home, the sleepy baby suddenly became more wakeful and eager to cluster feed. Day three became a challenge: jaundice set in and the pediatrician recommended supplementation due to excessive weight loss. The scenario ends with an emotionally drained parent worrying about their milk supply, supplementing with bottles of formula daily and potentially giving up on breast/chestfeeding before the mature milk even has a chance to arrive! Did their body really let them down? Did they really not have enough milk?
April 17, 2021 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, LCCE, FACCE, CD/BDT(DONA), CLE
Black Maternal Health Week (BMHW21) ends today, but perinatal professionals need to acknowledge that this focus is not something that should be elevated one week a year. The atrocious maternal morbidity and mortality rate faced by childbearing Black people demands attention and action every single day. There is simply no time to rest, as people are dying while trying to grow their families.
Here are some amazing Black perinatal organizations that are uniquely qualified to serve Black families. This list is just a small compilation of resources, and identifies those organizations with a national presence. You should identify similar groups that are local to your community, so you can include that information as well and make it easier for Black families to identify the right resources for them.
April 13, 2021 | by: Molly Giammarco, MPP
As Lamaze joins stakeholders, advocates, and policymakers in celebrating Black Maternal Health Week (April 11-17, 2021), Lamaze educators, advocates, and parents can reflect on the progress made on raising awareness of maternal health disparities—and the actions taken to address them. With the Congressional Black Maternal Health Caucus’ (BMHC) and other policymakers’ leadership, vision, and collaboration, federal efforts to reduce maternal health disparities and shortfalls are no longer just talking points. They are now Congressional actions.
April 09, 2021 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, CD/BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE
April is Cesarean Awareness Month (CAM) around the world. For some global locations, there are too few cesareans performed and pregnant/postpartum people and/or their newborns are dying or experiencing significant morbidity issues. (In the sub-Saharan region of Africa the rate of cesarean section is 4%.) In other locations, including in the United States, there are too many cesareans performed and pregnant/postpartum people are dying or suffering from significant morbidity issues. (Some Latin American countries have a cesarean rate around 60%, the USA’s cesarean rate is just shy of 32%.) It is estimated that about six million unnecessary cesareans are done each year, half of them in Brazil and China (Boerma, T., et al, 2018.) It is believed that approximately 60% of cesareans are not clinically necessary. Research has indicated that 25 percent of countries underuse cesarean sections, while 60 percent of countries were found to overuse the procedure (Wiklund, I., 2018.)
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.
April 01, 2021 | by: Debby Amis, RN, BSN, CD(DONA), LCCE, FACCE
It has been a little over a year since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. Overnight, daily life changed, in-person childbirth classes were canceled, and the birth experience changed for families around the world.
March 31, 2021 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, CD/BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE
As I write the Brilliant Activities for Birth Educators post for March 2021, I am both stunned and not totally surprised that much of the world continues to be heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and virtual perinatal classes are still the norm. I am curious and unsure when it will be considered safe to once again hold in-person classes for those families expecting a baby. I do believe that even once in-person classes return, there will continue to be a consistent demand for live, virtual classes as well. Today’s Brilliant Activities for Birth Educators post is all about having a meaningful way to end your virtual childbirth class. You can find all the Brilliant Activities for Birth Educators posts in the series by following this link.
March 25, 2021 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, CD/BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE
The National Center for Health Statistics Centers for Disease Control just released a National Vital Statistics Report on Final Birth Data, 2019. Here are nine facts from this current report about births in the United States and the people who are giving birth. You can read the entire report and accompanying tables from the CDC website by clicking here.
March 23, 2021 | by: Sharon Muza, BS, CD/BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, CLE
The world just passed the one year anniversary of the declaration of the COVID-19 global pandemic, and vaccinations are being rolled out in many countries with varying degrees of access and participation. In the meantime, birthing parents continue to welcome their babies, and many families have done so with a doula by the side. This week is also World Doula Week. Birth doulas support the family with emotional, physical and informational support during labor and birth, with prenatal and postpartum visits on either side. There are also postpartum doulas who support families after the baby is born.
I wanted to share my experiences as a birth doula throughout this pandemic, and how this pandemic has impacted birth doula support. I want to acknowledge that I live in Seattle, WA, USA and this part of the country is very “doula friendly” and we have many, many doulas here. Doulas practicing elsewhere in the world, may have different experiences than mine.
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