“And then, a few hours later,” he says, lowering his voice as if he is about to impart the answer to all the secret mysteries of the universe, “they sent us home. And Clare just walked out. Like a normal person. She just got up and walked out. But she’d just had a baby! I offered to carry her, but she just looked at me as if I was insane. As if I was insane! As if what she’d just done wasn’t insane! They should carry you all out on golden sedan chairs through streets lined with cheering crowds.”
“And cushions,” I say. “We want cushions on the sedan chair. We want it to be mostly cushions.”
“Whatever you say,” he says, earnestly. “Whatever you say.”
The Charleston Birth Place is an accredited birth center in South Caroline, owned and operated by Certified Nurse Midwife and former AABC President, Lesley Rathbun. Ms. Rathbun fears impending legislative process will greatly impact her ability to provide safe and appropriate clinical care. The new regulations would require a doctor to visit the birth center when an emergency takes place in order to decide if the mother and child need to be taken to the hospital. The Post and Courier explains:
Four years ago, state lawmakers passed a temporary fix that allowed birth centers to sidestep the regulations and remain open. That proviso, which has been renewed each year and will remain valid through June, allows birth centers to consult with a physician on-site or “by telecommunications or other electronic means.” It also requires the contracting physician to “be within a thirty minute drive of the birthing center or hospital.”
But a health care subcommittee of state lawmakers recently indicated it will not likely renew the proviso for another year. Rep. Murrell Smith, a Sumter Republican who chairs that subcommittee, did not return a message Friday.
Meanwhile, two bills have been introduced to permanently update the DHEC regulations, but similar laws have failed to gain traction in the past.
We need our supporters to click on the links, and make comments. Engaging the media helps us get H3133/S242 the legislative support needed to put all this behind us.
NORTH CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) – A local birth center is in jeopardy of ending its services. This after a state committee deleted a temporary law this week that enables the local center to carry out natural births. Charleston Birth Place an accredited birth center provides natural births for women.
Guess what? Eating, drinking and moving in labor promotes a more effective labor! And there is a new study to support what we have known in the birth center setting for a while…
We predict the next study will evaluation the benefits of proper hydration while exercising. Ha. Ha.
Authors Ciardulli A1, Saccone G, Anastasio H, Berghella V. Author information 1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Rome, and the Department of Neuroscience, Reproductive Sciences and Dentistry, School of Medicine, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy; and the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Sidney Kimmel Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Citation Obstet Gynecol. 2017 Feb 6. doi: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000001898. [Epub ahead of print] CONCLUSION: Women with low-risk singleton pregnancies who were allowed to eat more freely during labor had a shorter duration of labor. A policy of less-restrictive food intake during labor did not influence other obstetric or neonatal outcomes nor did it increase the incidence of vomiting. Operative delivery rates were similar.
Have you ever wondered why many medications aren’t studied in pregnant women? Have you noticed that even most over-the-counter medications or supplements carry the warning to “consult with your provider” before using in pregnancy? Did you know that up to 95% of late-stage clinical trials still exclude pregnant women AND is estimated that over 50% of pregnant women take some kind of medication? A recent study calls for change!
But for most medications, we have no idea how they work in pregnant women because we’ve never studied it. And with such little information, some pregnant women choose to err on the side of caution, which could mean suffering through pain, discontinuing antidepressants, and putting themselves at risk of disease. There are a few reasons for this. First, there’s the fear of harming the fetus. In the 1950s the drug thalidomide was prescribed to pregnant women as a way to treat morning sickness. But after thousands of babies were born with limb deformities, it became clear that medications taken by a pregnant woman posed a risk to the fetus she carried.
This was further emphasized by diethylstilbestrol, a drug once thought to prevent miscarriages and later found to cause vaginal tumors in females exposed to it in the womb. Pregnant women and even women of childbearing age were then explicitly excluded from clinical trials for some time. Once the underrepresentation of women in clinical trials was recognized as a problem and including them in trials became a priority in the 1990s, it was strongly suggested that they either use contraception or abstain from sex while taking part in trials. Currently, up to 95 percent of late-stage clinical trials still explicitly exclude pregnant women. Other reasons are more financially-based. “The market for pregnant women is much smaller than the general market,” says Costantine. This means drug companies don’t want to take a risk on a smaller slice of the market, especially when there are no regulations in place to protect them from legal action if something went wrong. If a woman needs a medication while pregnant or was already using one prior to pregnancy, her doctor has to anticipate and measure any potential changes in its therapeutic effect. “For some drugs you follow the concentration in the blood and adjust the doses accordingly,” says Costantine.
Babymoon Inn is a full-scope midwifery practice and wellness center with locations in Phoenix and Tucson. Our team is committed to improving maternal outcomes and providing personalized, evidence-based care to all people.
Babymoon Inn is a full-scope midwifery practice and wellness center with locations in Phoenix and Tucson. Our team is committed to improving maternal outcomes and providing personalized, evidence-based care to all people.