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 cord clamping of term infants, the association of multiple cesareans and placental abnormalities, induction of labor at 41 weeks, and the World Health Organization's recently released pediatric growth charts.
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.normalbirth.lamaze.org ).
authors.forename: Amy M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Romano