It's no walk in the park to be born, for mom or baby. A new study hopes to shed light on just how stressful an average, uneventful delivery is on the fetal head and brain.
childbirth
When it comes to delivery location, the stakes are too high to add a risk factor or hurdle to childbirth. Hospital births are the safest choice.
While some argue that a continued decline in the birth rate will merit a failed replacement rate for the overall population, it's time to take a pause and appreciate the nuances in these observed trends.
The adverse effects on patient safety from poor hospital scheduling and staffing are well known. This occurs when there's a shortage of experienced physicians and health professionals at work during non-standard hours. Maternal health is the latest focus.
Though Hollywood features can be quite dramatic, the real thing can provide much more entertainment.
With women opting for "free birth" or "unassisted birth" the stakes are only getting higher. Dismissing medical advice is also taking the form of a misguided practice of prolonging delivery well beyond due dates.
For some expectant mothers, there's a strong desire to have less "medicalization" of labor and delivery. It manifests itself in home births and water births for those adamantly opposed to a hospital setting. Now, “unassisted birth” goes a step further excluding a trained professional from the delivery. It's time to clarify the risks.
The knowledge of a baby being big or small is just data, not meaningful information. Context is key.
Branding normal phases of development and transitions have become a thing, mainly to sell books more than identify any new discovery. That said, the first three months of a baby’s life after birth and mom’s postpartum period is a rather unique time for many reasons.
With continued refrains of "too many" or "too few" being applied to manners of birth, which often serve to shame or assign blame, the focus is on the wrong issue. A new study on delivery mode helps inform us on this topic.
The U.S. space agency recently launched sperm specimens, from humans and bulls, to the international space station. There, astronauts will conduct experiments on the impact of microgravity on sperm’s motility and function.
After the World Health Organization and United Nations Children's Fund doubled down – urging breastfeeding at all costs, despite no country meeting their standards – we need to ask: Has the U.K.'s latest reversal of the normal birth campaign taught us anything? Value-laden ideology should not drive health policy.