Birth Matters Virginia

See you in 2010!!!

The Birth Matters blog will be taking a brief moment to sit back and relax with our friends and families!  We will return in the new year!

 

Research Participants Needed for Preterm Delivery Study

There is a clinical research study now enrolling women who are currently pregnant and have had a prior preterm delivery.

You may qualify for this research study if you:
• Have had a previous single-baby preterm delivery
• Are currently pregnant and expecting one baby
• Are less than 20 weeks pregnant
• Are at least 18 years old

The purpose of this research study is to determine if weekly injections of an investigational study drug reduce the rate of early delivery. This research will also determine if the study drug improves the health of the newborn baby.

The study drug will be compared to placebo, which is an injection that is like the study drug, but does not contain active study medication. Depending upon how long you have been pregnant when you enter this research study, participation may last for approximately 20 weeks.

There will be approximately 1700 women enrolled in the United States, Canada and several other countries. Your participation could contribute to reducing the number of preterm births.

For your reference and to determine if you qualify for this research opportunity, you may call toll-free 1-877-707-4555 or visit www.devotedtobabies .com/ya.aspx

This is not a BMV study.

Awards Event Survey

The 2009 Awards Event Survey is officially closed.  Thanks to all the members who volunteered time, energy, and so much more!  It was the sweat and hard work of all of you who helped make this event such a success.  We look forward to another wonderful year, and more awesome events! 

Childbirth Drugs and Early Breastfeeding

An analysis of the Cardiff Births Survey was done to examine associations between drugs used during childbirth and breastfeeding rates.   Almost 50,000 births were examined, and all births involved healthy women and singleton babies.  

Results in brevity:

At 48 hours, 43.3% (20 933/48 366) women were not breastfeeding. Regression analysis confirmed previously reported associations of lower breastfeeding rates with certain demographic indicators, epidural analgesia, intramuscular opioid analgesia and ergometrine. Novel associations were detected with oxytocin alone or in combination with ergometrine administered for prevention of postpartum haemorrhage (PPH), which were associated with reductions of 6–8%, (intramuscular oxytocin OR 0.75, 95% CI 0.61–0.91, intravenous oxytocin OR 0.68, 95% CI 0.57–0.82, oxytocin/ergometrine OR 0.77, 95% CI 0.65–0.91), and prostaglandins administered for induction of labour. The associations were maintained when subgroups, such as primiparous women, women whose labours were neither induced nor augmented, and women not receiving epidural analgesia were considered.

To read the entire article as a PDF, click here. 

NIH VBAC Conference

The National Institute of Health (NIH) will host a Consensus Development Conference that focuses on vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) this coming March.   The conference will be held in Bethesda, Maryland on March 8 -10, 2010.  It will address the following key points:

What are the rates and patterns of utilization of trial of labor after prior cesarean, vaginal birth after cesarean, and repeat cesarean delivery in the United States?

Among women who attempt a trial of labor after prior cesarean, what is the vaginal delivery rate and the factors that influence it?

What are the short- and long-term benefits and harms to the mother of attempting trial of labor after prior cesarean versus elective repeat cesarean delivery, and what factors influence benefits and harms?

What are the short- and long-term benefits and harms to the baby of maternal attempt at trial of labor after prior cesarean versus elective repeat cesarean delivery, and what factors influence benefits and harms?

What are the nonmedical factors that influence the patterns and utilization of trial of labor after prior cesarean?

What are the critical gaps in the evidence for decision-making, and what are the priority investigations needed to address these gaps?

For more information, click here. 

Can't attend, but don't want to miss out?  Click here to sign up for the webcast!

 

This is not a BMV event. 

The Ecologist: Breastmilk vs. Formula

The Ecologist is the world's leading environmental affairs magazine, and has been around for almost 40 years.  If you didn't know, in addition to the other benefits breastfeeding offers you and your baby, it is also green.  The Ecologist recently published a piece regarding breastfeeding and formula feeding.

"Nearly all women – around 99 per cent – can breastfeed successfully and make enough milk for their babies to not simply grow, but to thrive. With encouragement, support and help, almost all women are willing to initiate breastfeeding, but the drop-off rates are alarming: 90 per cent of women who give up in the first six weeks say that they would like to have continued. And it seems likely that long-term exclusive breastfeeding rates could be improved if consistent support were available, and if approval within the family and the wider community for breastfeeding, both at home and in public, were more obvious and widespread."

To read the full article, including the reasons many women do not breastfeed, the role of medicalized birth in feeding babies, professional failures, the influence of advertising on new parenst and the overall culture, funding research, fighting back, and more, click here.

Breech Birth No Longer Automatic C-Section for Canadian Moms and Babies

Canadian docs to stop automatic C-sections for breech babies

 

By Sharon Kirkey, Canwest News Service

 

Photograph by: Jenelle Schneider, Calgary Herald

"In a major shift in medical practice and another assault on Canada's rising cesarean section rate, Canada's delivery doctors are being told to stop automatically scheduling C-sections for breech babies and attempt a normal delivery instead — something significant numbers of obstetricians aren't trained to do.

New guidelines issued Wednesday by the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada say women carrying babies in the breech, or bottom-first, position should be given the right to choose to attempt a traditional delivery when possible."

To read the full article, including studies that show vaginal birth is still safest for breech babies, as well as how the study may imact American women and families, click here.