Research summaries for normal birth.
In this column, the author summarizes four research studies relevant to normal birth. The topics of the studies summarized include the effect of obstetrician anxiety on cesarean surgery rates, the risks of routine membrane sweeping, beneficial effects of doula care for middle-class women, and the lack of reliability of continuous electronic fetal monitoring tracings.
AMY ROMANO is a midwife, author, and advocate for mother-friendly maternity care. She has provided research and advocacy support to the Lamaze Institute for Normal Birth since 2004 and now works as a home- and hospital-based midwife in Connecticut.
Amy M
AM
Romano