title: Research summaries for normal birth.
abstract: In this column, the author presents summaries of four research studies that further support the benefits of normal birth. The topics of the studies address the downsides of routine episiotomy, the link of epidural analgesia to an increased risk of occiput-posterior babies, the relationship between normal birth and successful breastfeeding, and results from the first national survey of doulas.
authors.affiliation: AMY ROMANO is a certified-nurse midwife who cares for women and their families in a freestanding birth center in Wilmington, Delaware. She is also the Web site editor of the Lamaze Institute for Normal Birth ( www.lamaze.org/institute ).
authors.forename: Amy M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Romano