“…or the Wooing of the Pregnant Woman
I know, I know, you feel like you’ve been pregnant forever. You are uncomfortable, have trouble sleeping and haven’t been able to see your own vagina for months. People are making rude remarks (whether they think they are or not). Your back hurts, you pee when you blink, and your joints are so loose you feel like Pregnant Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man.

So, you are done and you want this baby out. I get it, I really do. I have so been there, it’s awful.”

<<To read the rest of this article, click here>>

“It’s a common term used within the birthing community: Natural Induction. People who use the term don’t mean any harm by it. They wish to pass on information to mothers who are looking to help their babies be born sooner, using more “natural” methods than might be used by doctors or medically-minded midwives.

But, the irony is that “natural induction” is an oxymoron. Even though more gentle methods may be used to encourage labor to start, the fact is, there is nothing natural about induction.”

<<To read the rest of this article, click here>>

“We were a bit surprised by this finding. We know that length of gestation varies among women, but some part of that variation has always been attributed to errors in the assignment of gestational age. Our measure of length of gestation does not include these sources of error, and yet there is still five weeks of variability. It’s fascinating.”

“It is expected that 98% of women do NOT deliver on their due date, but rather 49% before and 49% after their due date, and only 2% on their due date. Since first births on average deliver a week after the due date, about 75% of first births deliver after their due date.  Data from 2002-2008 in the US showed  11.4% of low risk first births and 6.4% of low risk multiparous births that attempted vaginal birth were induced for the reason of  ‘postdates’ and a total of 45% of births, that were not elective cesareans, were induced.”

<<To read the rest of this article, click here>>