What is skin-to-skin contact (SSC)? Skin-to-skin contact, also called “kangaroo care,” is when your baby is placed on your chest after birth instead of being wrapped in a blanket and placed in a crib or incubator (warmer). How do I have skin-to-skin contact with my baby? Your naked baby should be placed directly on your skin without a blanket or…
Healthy, physiologic birth means allowing your body to go through labor under its own innate power. It is the optimal functioning of childbirth, and is a safe process that includes labor, birth, and the first hour after birth for both you and your baby. Healthy birth does not routinely require medical intervention. Characteristics of healthy labor, birth, and the first…
Americans pay a high price in illnesses and deaths due to tobacco use. Unfortunately, even though smoking rates have declined over the years—from 20.9% in 2005 to 15.1% in 2015—tobacco use still results in far too many deaths, disabilities, and smoking-related illnesses in the United States. For every person who dies because of smoking, at least 30 people live with…
The type and amount of discomfort during labor and birth varies from woman to woman and changes throughout the various stages of labor. Midwives are leading experts in helping women decide how to cope with childbirth pain. Whether you wish to try strategies such as movement, massage, water immersion, or relaxation techniques, or epidural, nitrous oxide, or other medications, your…
Labor is the work that your body does to give birth to your baby. Your uterus contracts, your cervix (the mouth of the uterus) opens, and you push your baby out into the world. Experiences of labor are as unique and varied as the nearly 4 million women who give birth every year in the United States. Familiarizing yourself with…
Normal Healthy Childbirth for Women & Families: What You Need to Know clearly explains and advocates the benefits of normal, physiologic birth for the average health care consumer. This helpful tool was created from a 2012 consensus statement developed by ACNM, the Midwives Alliance of North America, and the National Association of Certified Professional Midwives. Released in early 2014, this…
Can you tell me more about using nitrous for pain control during labor? I found out that lots of people use it in the UK but I can’t find any hospital around me that offers it. What’s the deal? Is it not safe? —Sarah B. Hospitals in the U.S. are beginning to have nitrous oxide available to women for…