Expecting Better: Why the Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom Is Wrong--and What You Really Need to Know (The ParentData Series Book 1)

labor progression is slow during active labor, our preference for augmentation is (in this order): (1) amniotomy (breaking water) and (2) Pitocin. Usually everything goes fine, but this is the part of labor when the physical doctor skills can really come in handy. The big concern here is that the baby will get stuck. Until you try it, it’s hard to

Intermittent (ideal) or mobile fetal monitoring

neonatal seizures—these were more likely in the group without continuous monitoring—but

The review article found that women who underwent continuous monitoring were much more likely to have interventions.

The C-section rates were lower even among women who used an epidural.

Women with a doula were less than half as likely to have an epidural, had shorter labor, were about half as likely to have a C-section, and were half as likely to have forceps used in delivery.

not, starting at hospital admission.7 Women with a doula were half as likely to have a C-section (13 percent versus 25 percent) and less likely to use an epidural

If water breaks before contractions start, our preference is to wait 12 hours and induce if labor has not started. Unless necessary, digital vaginal exams should be avoided during this period.

Cesarean