Academy of breastfeeding medicine founder's lecture 2009: Maternity care re-evaluated.

Abstract In the 1990s a rising tide of medical, surgical, and instrumental interventions served to make childbirth almost treated like a disease. This report supports a different approach to childbirth. A case and discussions of induction are presented.

Female relatives or friends trained as labor doulas: outcomes at 6 to 8 weeks postpartum.

Background: Data collected on more than 12,000 women in 15 randomized controlled trials provide robust evidence of the beneficial effects of doula support on medical outcomes to childbirth. The objective of this paper was to examine the association between doula support and maternal perceptions of the infant, self, and support from others at 6 to 8 weeks postpartum. The doula was a minimally trained close female relative or friend.

#6: no separation of mother and baby with unlimited opportunity for breastfeeding.

In this position paper-one of six care practice papers published by Lamaze International and reprinted here with permission-the value of keeping mothers and their babies together from the moment of birth is discussed and presented as an evidenced-based practice that helps promote, protect, and support normal birth. The paper is written for childbearing women and their families. Babies held skin-to-skin with their mothers cry less often, breathe easier, and stay warmer than babies who are separated from their mothers.