Resources and Links

    CAM is proud to announce its partnership with
    MOTHERS NATURALLY
    Register your practice on the site, and send prospective clients there for information.
    This is homebirth midwifery’s own consumer resource!
  • The International Center for Traditional Childbearing will hold their 7th International Black Midwives and Healers Conference, “Weaving the Cultural Traditions of Midwifery,” on October 8-10, 2010 with preconference sessions on October 7 at the Hilton Long Beach & Executive Meeting Center, 701 West Ocean Boulevard, Long Beach, CA 90831-3102.
  • Susun Weed’s Wise Woman Center – Herbal medicine and spirit healing for women looking for alternative health information and natural remedies for menopause, osteoporosis, pregnancy, fertility issues, and breast health. Plenty of articles, resources, and links. Information on Susun Weed’s workshops, intensives, apprenticeships, and correspondence courses. Includes a forum, ezine and a virtual moonlodge. Click here.
  • Resources from Citizens for Midwifery – the only national consumer-based group promoting the Midwives Model of Care! Click here.
  • Childbirth Connection, formerly Maternity Center Association, is a not-for-profit organization that has worked to improve maternity care for mothers, babies, and families since 1918, click here.
  • For Low-Risk Women, Risk of Death May Be Higher for Babies Delivered by Cesarean, click here.
  • Trends in Cesarean Rates for First Births and Repeat Cesarean Rates for Low-Risk Women: United States, 1990-2003, click here.
  • ACOG Recommends Restricted Use of Episiotomies March 31, 2006, click here.
  • The Safety of Home Birth, click here.
  • Aikins Murphy P, Feinland JB; Perineal outcomes in a home birth setting. [Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, USA.] Birth 1998 Dec;25(4):226-34 BACKGROUND: Perineal lacerations are a source of significant discomfort to many women. This descriptive study examined perineal outcomes in a home birth population, and provides a preliminary description of factors associated with perineal laceration and episiotomy. METHODS: Data were drawn from a prospective cohort study of 1404 intended home births in nurse-midwifery practices. Analyses focused on a subgroup of 1068 women in 28 midwifery practices who delivered at home with a midwife in attendance. Perineal trauma included both episiotomy and lacerations. Minor abrasions and superficial lacerations that did not require suturing were included with the intact perineum group. Associations between perineal trauma and study variables were examined in the pooled dataset and for multiparous and nulliparous women separately. RESULTS: In this sample 69.6 percent of the women had an intact perineum, 15 (1.4%) had an episiotomy, 28.9 percent had first- or second-degree lacerations, and 7 women (0.7%) had third- or fourth-degree lacerations. Logistic regression analyses showed that in multiparas, low socioeconomic status and higher parity were associated with intact perineum, whereas older age (>/= 40 yr), previous episiotomy, weight gain of over 40 pounds, prolonged second stage, and the use of oils or lubricants were associated with perineal trauma. Among nulliparas, low socioeconomic status, kneeling or hands-and-knees position at delivery, and manual support of the perineum at delivery were associated with intact perineum, whereas perineal massage during delivery was associated with perineal trauma. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that it is possible for midwives to achieve a high rate of intact perineums and a low rate of episiotomy in a select setting and with a select population.