Carla Keirns

This essay demonstrates significant factors, a midwife and the women may face within Australian public hospitals. As a midwife the key skills are understanding of what supports and impacts the normal physiological process of labour and birth. This essay will discuss two influencing factors that have a negative effect on the normal progress of labour and birth. This will be seen, firstly by discussing the cultural and environmental impacts of labour and birth. Then, examining how the midwife may best support and facilitate the adverse effects of normal physiological process. This essay also discusses a positive labour and birth environment within the Australian standard model of care.

However, Ricki Lane, the producer of the film, “The Business of being Born,” hopes that viewers will see that economically, births out of hospitals and at home is cheaper with a midwife, who will charge their patients only $4,000 for everything, including post-natal care. Whilst, a normal vaginal birth can cost up to $13,000, and a birth with multiple drugs involved, which typically leads to C-Section costs up to $35,000. However, with the American Medical association’s relationships with the hospitals and insurances, they are actually discouraging home births and midwifery, when the truth is that, statistically, it is safer and cheaper with home births and midwifes. It kind of makes you wonder just what exactly is on their agenda when it is a common practice to give births at home in both, developing and under developing countries, and has been for hundreds of years.

Over the years birthing methods have changed a great deal. When technology wasn’t so advanced there was only one method of giving birth, vaginally non-medicated. However, in today’s society there are now more than one method of giving birth. In fact, there are three methods: Non-medicated vaginal delivery, medicated vaginal delivery and cesarean delivery, also known as c-section. In the cesarean delivery there is not much to prepare for before the operation, except maybe the procedure of the operation. A few things that will be discussed are: the process of cesarean delivery, reasons for this birthing method and a few reasons for why this birthing method is used. Also a question that many women have is whether or not they can vaginally

Elective inductions are becoming increasing popular and the old wait till you go into labor is becoming something of the past. Many woman want to predict when their future offspring will be here and be able to have a plan for when to take off of work. But one thing about having these elective inductions is the fact that they are more of a social event rather than a medical necessity. Studies have shown that the elective induction group makes up more than one third of the pregnant population (Jonsson 2012, pg. 198). This means woman are volunteering to make themselves go into labor before their body is ready. Not only are elective inductions increasing but being induced has been associated with a 3 to 4 fold increase in having a cesarean section (Yogev 2013, pg.1736). A Bishop Score is done before the start of any induction. This score is based off of cervical dilation, cervical effacement and the station of the babies head compared to the ischial spines. The number produced from this score shows whether or not the cervix is favorable or unfavorable. A favorable score is a score above 7. If the score falls below this, the cervix is not favorable. “Women who were closed dilation

There has been a long debate over which birthing method women should use today: natural versus medicalized. The World Health Organization defines natural birth as a vaginal birth without the use of any.. and medicalized birth as being .. However, medicalized births are becoming increasingly popular in the United States. The use of technology and medical interventions in the birthing process has increased despite the unchanged basic physiology of childbirth. One of the most common medical interventions in the birthing process is having a cesarean delivery. Despite the known risks of having a cesarean section performed, the rates of this procedure have increased much higher than the acceptable rate of 10-15% as recommended by the World Health Organization. This is due to the reason that cesarean sections are now being performed as a matter of convenience of the physician or at the request of the patient more often than being performed as a life-saving intervention. Thus making surgical and medicalized interventions a part of a common routine in the childbirth experience.

The purpose of this handbook is to advise expectant mothers to avoid getting a C- section when it is time for them to give birth. In addition, the report discusses what a C-section is and the risk factors associated with it. This report points out that many doctors and hospitals tend to preform unnecessary C-sections in order to gain more money.

The occurrence of cesarean deliveries is rising at a disturbing rate worldwide. In 2007, 31.8 percent of all births in the United States were performed by cesarean delivery (Heron, et al., 2010). As cited in the International Childbirth Education Association, 2004, about one third of the total cesarean deliveries are elective repeat cesareans. Thus, the purpose of this evidence-based inquiry is to address the question: in laboring women with a previous history of cesarean delivery, how does a vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) compared to a cesarean delivery influence patient and fetus safety during delivery?

The project was conducted at a 408-bed Magnet-designated community hospital in a suburb of New York City. In 2009, this hospital had 1,547 births with an overall cesarean birth rate of 42 percent. Of the total cesarean births, approximately 50% were repeat, elective (nonemergency) cesarean birth. A total of 320 mothers constituted the potential study population for this quality improvement project. The inclusion criteria used to obtain the sample consisted of English-speaking women ages 18 years or older who were having a repeat, elective (nonemergency) cesarean birth. Women whose newborns required admission to the NICU or a transfer out of the hospital were excluded from the study. The total study sample consisted of six mothers between the ages of 27 and 40 years.

As a society we have advanced immensely and swiftly in multiple areas such as science, medicine, and technology. Because of these advancements we are seeing a spike in C-sections and other practices in pregnancy such as induction drugs and epidurals. We may want to reconsider some of the trending practices that are not always necessary and cause dangerous outcomes for mother and child. Woman need to say no to medical interventions during pregnancy unless absolutely necessary and opt for a more natural approach as that is what our bodies were designed to do on their own, and have done for thousands of years. What sparked my interest in the subject was having some

This paper analyzes a labor patient who was scheduled for an induction. Patient Y presented to the maternity unit and was not in active labor. Once in a labor room, Patient Y was connected to electronic fetal monitoring and her induction process was to begin shortly. Her entire birth plan changed rapidly when she was rushed to the operating room for an emergency cesarean section due to non-reassuring fetal heart tones. All aspects of care provided to the patient and her newborn will be explained and analyzed throughout this paper. Upon completion of reading this paper, the reader should have an understanding of the nursing diagnoses, interventions and there effectiveness, and the education the nurse provided to the patient prior to discharge.

Using a population-based study, researchers used a Medical Birth Registry in Sweden, gaining data on about 5,000 type 1 diabetic pregnancies. They also used approximately 1,200,000 pregnancies deemed “healthy” as a control group. In studying these births and the health of the children from 1991 to 2003, researchers found a prominent correlation between type one diabetic mothers and “preeclampsia, cesarean section delivery, . . . still births, perinatal mortality, and major malformations.” On top of these issues, there was a seen increase in preterm births and cases of fetal macrosomia among the diabetic group (Persson, Norman, & Hanson, 2009, p. [Page #]).(Persson, Norman, & Hanson, 2009)

In terms of monetary gain, physicians and hospitals are paid more for Cesarean deliveries than natural birth (DSHS, 2016). They are also time effective. For example: if a natural birth is taking too long, most physicians, nurses and hospital staff, who are dependent to care on other patients, need the birthing process to be completed within an allotted time (Likis, 2012). However, birth is not a time-efficient process. Thus, the majority of Cesarean deliveries are the outcome of long deliveries and rarely performed as a lifesaving procedure (Likis, 2012). According to the Journal Midwifery and Women’s Health (2012) roughly billions of dollars are expended to fund a number of increased complications:

Pregnant in America is a documentary film that focuses on mothers preferring a natural birth, fetal and maternal mortality, and the health care system. The documentary film is about a couple named Steve Buonaugurio and Mandy Buonaugurio, who are expecting their first child name Bella. By traveling across the United States and Europe they learn about hospitals, doctors, the insurance companies, home births and midwives. As the couple traveled, they interviewed experts which lead them to find out shocking realities about women who have given birth in a hospital setting. Throughout their journey they learn that cesarean section has increased in the United States from 7% in 1975 to today being 30%. The shocking reality they came across is that mothers are being pushed to have a cesarean section when it comes to delivering the baby. Not only are mothers pushed to having a cesarean section, but they are giving birth on a scheduled date, since having a scheduled birth is what works best for doctors. The increased in mothers having cesarean section is also due to insurance companies. A couple who previously had a cesarean section to deliver their first child were told by their insurance company that costs for a natural birth would not be covered since they would only cover the costs of a cesarean section. While the expecting couple keeps traveling they find out that epidural – an injection of drugs into the epidural space of the spine to create a loss of sensation in a woman’s lower

Cesarean section was associated with more than 3 days prolonged hospital stay in the group of women with a mixed obstetrical background

Vaginal birth after caesarean (VBAC) is the name used for identifying the method of giving birth vaginally after previously delivering at least one baby through a caesarean section (CS). A trial of labour (TOL) is the term used to describe the process of attempting a VBAC. An elected repeat caesarean (ERC) is the other option for women who have had a caesarean in the past. The rates of women choosing to deliver by means of an ERC has been increasing in many countries, this is typically due to the common assumption that there are too many risks for the baby and mother (Knight, Gurol-Urganci, Van Der Meulen, Mahmood, Richmond, Dougall, & Cromwell, 2013). The success rate of VBAC lies in the range of 56 - 80%, a reasonably high success rate, however, the repeat caesarean birth rate has increased to 83% in Australia (Knight et al., 2013). It is essential to inform women of the contraindications, success criteria, risks, benefits, information on uterine rupture and the role of the midwife in relation to considering attempting a VBAC (Hayman, 2014). This information forms the basis of an antenatal class (Appendix 1) that provides the necessary information to women who are considering attempting a VBAC and can therefore enable them to make their own decision regarding the mode of birth.