This updated edition of Care Practice Paper #2 presents the evidence for the benefits of allowing freedom of movement in labor. Physiologic and anatomical principles that support the benefits of movement are explained. The authors review common obstacles to movement in labor, including the routine use of interventions that inhibit women's ability to walk or change position. Women are encouraged to plan to be active in labor and to select care providers and birth settings that provide the full range of options for using movement in labor.
In this column, reviewers offer perspectives and comments on a variety of new media resources for childbirth educators and for expectant and new parents. The books and DVDs reviewed in this issue's column address the following topics: new directions for childbirth education classes; pregnancy tips for expectant mothers; empowering women to give birth naturally; midwifery care; breastfeeding; labyrinths and "laborinths" (an alternative approach to preparing for birth); preterm labor; understanding newborns' language cues; and exercise programs during pregnancy and the postnatal period, as well as exercises that strengthen the pelvic floor and help new mothers deal with incontinence.
In this column, reviewers offer perspectives and comments on The Official Lamaze Guide, a book by Judith Lothian and Charlotte De Vries; Breastfeeding, a slideshow by Roni Chastain; 100 Promises to My Baby, a book by Mallika Chopra; and The Breastfeeding Cafe´: Mothers Share the Joys, Challenges, and Secrets of Nursing, a book by Barbara L. Berhmann.
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