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Patty’s Blog: “” posts

“Labor Day” takes on new meaning.

Check out our September 2013 Birth & Parenting News e-Newsletter. Highlights include: Rally to Improve Birth Labor Day events in Michigan, a clarification video on pathways to becoming a doula, vaccine waivers for back to school, new class addressing the emotional challenges of parenting, saving the Alternative Birth Center at Providence Hospital, awesome new doula blog, new grandbaby (!), upcoming fall doula trainings, NEW fall lecture series, and more!

Posted by Patty Brennan on August 29, 2013 • Filed under
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What does it cost to have a baby in the U.S. compared to other countries?

Chart from a Childbirth Connection a Updated Fact Sheet summarizes average maternity services payments in the United States compared to other Countries, 2012.

Our bi-weekly Birth & Parenting News Blog highlights the latest news items, research results, consumer alerts, and legislative action alerts of interest to expectant and new parents and the professionals who work them.

Posted by Patty Brennan on August 27, 2013 • Filed under
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The Art of Labor Sitting

Amy Gilliland offers her thoughts on this topic in her awesome new blog, Doulaing the Doula. “Labor sitting is the process of being present with a mother when she is laboring and does not require your direct attention, but needs your attentiveness. In other words, labor is going well but there really is nothing for the doula to do but step to the outer circle and wait. Common situations for labor sitting are early labor, the first few hours of an induction, when mother is resting with an epidural, or taking turns with another member of the birth team. Good labor sitting means that the doula seems occupied but interruptable. The mother does not feel pressured by your presence to be further along in labor or to be doing anything different than what she is doing. At the same time she can feel your presence, knowing you are available if she should need you. Often, labor sitting takes place in the same room with the mother. Effective labor sitting is an active, not passive process. It may seem we are sitting on the couch working on a little project. But a good doula is much more aware of what is going on than it seems!” Read more.

Posted by Patty Brennan on August 22, 2013 • Filed under
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Homebirths may be safer than hospital births.

A new study has found that mothers experiencing low-risk pregnancies and who are planning home births may have an overall lower risk of birth complications than those who plan their births in hospitals. LiveScience is reporting that just 1 in 1,000 of the mothers monitored for the study suffered from severe complications during their home births, as opposed to 2.3 in every 1,000 who gave birth in a hospital. Read more.

Posted by Patty Brennan on August 20, 2013 • Filed under
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What does it cost to have a baby in the U.S.?

Facility Labor and Birth Charges by Site and Mode of Birth, United States, 2009-2011. Average facility childbirth charges vary depending on the place of birth (hospital or birth center), the way you give birth (vaginal or cesarean birth), and whether there are complications. The average hospital charge for an uncomplicated vaginal birth is about five times the average birth center charge for a vaginal birth. Hospital charges skyrocket when there are complications and when the birth is by cesarean section. You can view average charges nationally or state-by-state with Childbirth Connection’s Updated Fact Sheet.

Posted by Patty Brennan on August 15, 2013 • Filed under
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Cool new blog for doulas

Amy Gilliland, a DONA International doula trainer and researcher from Wisconsin, has launched her new blog, Doulaing the Doula. The blog is devoted to the development of doulas and our profession.” Check out this one-Birth Doulas Save Hospitals and Researchers Money.

“This article strives to fill the gap regarding the financial impact of doula care based on the assumption that certain interventions and procedures would be avoided due to the doula’s presence. We actually quantified how much money is saved when a birth doula is present to attend a low risk laboring mother.

The conclusion of the researchers is that “a system-based change in how laboring mothers are supported would be an innovative step that would put Wisconsin at the forefront of cost-effective health care, reducing interventions while improving outcomes. It is recommended that Wisconsin insurers consider reimbursing for professional doula labor support. It is also recommended that pilot programs be implemented in Wisconsin that can better assess the implementation of professional doula labor support services.”

Click here to download a copy of the report: An Economic Model of the Benefits of Professional Doula Labor Support in Wisconsin Births. At the end of her blog, Amy lists numerous ways that doulas can use this research to get doula programs funded, lobby insurance companies, and more. Awesome work!

Posted by Patty Brennan on August 13, 2013 • Filed under
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Safety of vaginal delivery for early preterm babies

Vaginal delivery for early preterm fetuses presenting head first, or vertex presentation, had a high rate of success with no difference in neonatal mortality compared to cesarean delivery, according to a study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. For breech births, however, the failure rate of vaginal delivery was high and planned cesarean delivery was associated with significantly lower neonatal mortality.

“Selecting a route of delivery at less than 32 weeks’ gestation is a difficult clinical decision given the high rate of infant mortality and morbidity as well as the maternal risks associated with cesarean delivery,” says lead investigator Uma M. Reddy, MD, MPH, of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD. “For vertex-presenting fetuses less than 32 weeks’ gestation, we saw no improvement in neonatal mortality with a planned cesarean delivery.” Read more.

Posted by Patty Brennan on August 8, 2013 • Filed under
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Want to avoid episiotomy and other unnecessary interventions?

The Leapfrog Group Hospital Survey highlights hospital rates of episiotomy and its online tool allows for comparison of rates within a city, state, or region. The survey compares hospitals’ performance on the national standards of safety, quality, and efficiency that are most relevant to consumers and purchasers of care. Although evidence suggests that routine use of episiotomy does not benefit babies and can lead to detrimental health outcomes in mothers, episiotomy rates remain high in some settings. Click here to compare episiotomy and early elective deliveries among hospitals in your area.

Posted by Patty Brennan on August 6, 2013 • Filed under
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Do antidepressants in pregnancy cause autism?

Two recent studies have shown an association between antidepressant use during pregnancy and an increased risk of autism in children. The risk of having an autistic child was doubled by the use of antidepressants taken during pregnancy. A large Swedish study published in the British Medical Journal included more than 1,600 autistic children whose mothers took any kind of antidepressant during their pregnancy. The results showed an increased incidence of autism in the antidepressant group compared to a control group. Learn more.

Posted by Patty Brennan on August 1, 2013 • Filed under
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