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Safe, healthy birth: what every pregnant woman needs to know

Judith A Lothian1

  • 1JUDITH A. LOTHIAN is a childbirth educator in Brooklyn, New York, a member of the Lamaze International Certification Council, and the associate editor of The Journal of Perinatal Education. She is also an associate professor in the College of Nursing at Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey.

The Journal of Perinatal Education
|September 15, 2009
PubMed

In spite of technology and medical science's ability to manage complex health problems, the current maternity care environment has increased risks for healthy women and their babies. It comes as a surprise to most women that standard maternity care does not reflect best scientific evidence. In this column, evidence-based maternity care practices are discussed with an emphasis on the practices that increase safety for mother and baby, and what pregnant women need to know in order to have safe, healthy births is described.

Keywords:
birth positionsbreastfeedingcesareanchildbirth educationchoice in childbirthelectronic fetal monitoringepiduralepisiotomyevidence-based maternity carehealthy birthhealthy birth practicesinductioninformed decision makingintravenous in laborlabor supportmaternal-infant interactionmovement in labornormal birthnutrition during laborroutine interventionssafe birth

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