The delivery of high quality and equitable care for both mothers and newborns is complex and requires efforts across many sectors. The United States spends more on childbirth than any other country in the world, yet outcomes are worse than other high-resource countries, and even worse for Black and Native American women. There are a variety of factors that influence childbirth, including social determinants such as income, educational levels, access to care, financing, transportation, structural racism and geographic variability in birth settings. It is important to reevaluate the United States' approach to maternal and newborn care through the lens of these factors across multiple disciplines. Birth Settings in America: Outcomes, Quality, Access, and Choice reviews and evaluates maternal and newborn care in the United States, the epidemiology of social and clinical risks in pregnancy and childbirth, birth settings research, and access to and choice of birth settings.

The easy, trusted way to develop a birth plan As an expectant mother and parent, navigating all of the information and options for labor and delivery can be cumbersome and confusing. Birth Plans For Dummies, is the ultimate resource guide to help you understand, develop, and implement a plan for the birth of your baby. A birth plan is a communication tool for expectant mothers and those involved in the delivery of a child. The plan explains the mother's preferences for labor and delivery and eliminates any confusion. There are a wide variety of methods, strategies, and techniques available to pregnant women preparing for delivery—and this hands-on, friendly guide covers them all. Covers choosing the setting and method that best fits the mothers needs and wishes Informs expectant parents about the numerous pain management and labor intervention options Provides instruction on developing and writing a birth plan and putting it into action If you are an expectant mother or parent looking for a guide to help develop a plan for the birth of your child, then Birth Plans For Dummies is the perfect book for you.

How to give birth is the most important decision of a woman’s pregnancy, but navigating the maze of options is overwhelming. The Complete Illustrated Birthing Companion clearly lays out the process for eight successful birthing plans from home births and hospital births to a natural unmedicated delivery and C-sections. Each path outlines the latest research on every technique and procedure from water birthing to medications and includes “Real Deal” and “Inside Information” sections that detail the huge variations parents-to-be sometimes encounter. Written by an OB/GYN, nurse/midwife, and neonatal nurse, this photo-filled essential guide presents the most balanced and comprehensive perspective on all aspects of delivery today including red flags that indicate when another birthing plan may be more appropriate as well as helpful strategies and trimester-by-trimester schedules for the smoothest birth experience possible.

An international collaboration of lecturers, practitioners and researchers. Each chapter considers a topic relevant to normalising maternity care. Topics include: routine interventions - epidurals - physiological third and fourth stages - longer labours and approaches to monitoring / intervention - most effective models of care - birth centres - home birth - mental health - doulas - reasons for intervention - links between research and practice - harmonising models of birth - caseload midwifery - including 'normality' on medical training courses - the symbolic value of birth - developments in China, the UAE, Brazil and other countries where dramatic changes are taking place (e.g. in sub-Saharan Africa) - the 'natural' caesarean - individual agents for change - intrapartum best practice - ways of supporting women labouring without pharmacological pain relief - water birth - VBAC - the role of regulatory bodies - ways of publicising your work - communication for best results - review of progress and pointers for future research. Questions and extracts provide stimulating reflection and seminar material. For midwives, obstetricians, GPs, doulas and other maternity caregivers. "I strongly recommend this book to midwives, obstetricians, doctors and hospital administrators. It carefully reviews the scientific data." Marsden Wagner-who was director of Women's and Children's Health at the World Health Organization for 15 years, before his retirement. Questions and extracts provide stimulating reflection and seminar material. For midwives, obstetricians, GPs, doulas and other maternity caregivers. "I strongly recommend this book to midwives, obstetricians, doctors and hospital administrators. It carefully reviews the scientific data." Marsden Wagner-who was director of Women's and Children's Health at the World Health Organization for 15 years, before his retirement

Optimizing outcomes for women in labor at the global level requires evidence-based guidance of health workers to improve care through appropriate patient selection and use of effective interventions. In this regard, the World Health Organization (WHO) published recommendations for induction of labor in 2011. The goal of the present guideline is to consolidate the guidance for effective interventions that are needed to reduce the global burden of prolonged labor and its consequences. The primary target audience includes health professionals responsible for developing national and local health protocols and policies, as well as obstetricians, midwives, nurses, general medical practitioners, managers of maternal and child health programs, and public health policy-makers in all settings.

Decades of research have demonstrated that the parent-child dyad and the environment of the familyâ€"which includes all primary caregiversâ€"are at the foundation of children's well- being and healthy development. From birth, children are learning and rely on parents and the other caregivers in their lives to protect and care for them. The impact of parents may never be greater than during the earliest years of life, when a child's brain is rapidly developing and when nearly all of her or his experiences are created and shaped by parents and the family environment. Parents help children build and refine their knowledge and skills, charting a trajectory for their health and well-being during childhood and beyond. The experience of parenting also impacts parents themselves. For instance, parenting can enrich and give focus to parents' lives; generate stress or calm; and create any number of emotions, including feelings of happiness, sadness, fulfillment, and anger. Parenting of young children today takes place in the context of significant ongoing developments. These include: a rapidly growing body of science on early childhood, increases in funding for programs and services for families, changing demographics of the U.S. population, and greater diversity of family structure. Additionally, parenting is increasingly being shaped by technology and increased access to information about parenting. Parenting Matters identifies parenting knowledge, attitudes, and practices associated with positive developmental outcomes in children ages 0-8; universal/preventive and targeted strategies used in a variety of settings that have been effective with parents of young children and that support the identified knowledge, attitudes, and practices; and barriers to and facilitators for parents' use of practices that lead to healthy child outcomes as well as their participation in effective programs and services. This report makes recommendations directed at an array of stakeholders, for promoting the wide-scale adoption of effective programs and services for parents and on areas that warrant further research to inform policy and practice. It is meant to serve as a roadmap for the future of parenting policy, research, and practice in the United States.

A Modern Woman's Guide to a Natural Empowering Birth is a collection of inspiring birth stories, expert tips and practical insights to empower women to reclaim their birth power and overcome their fears in a modern world. Afterword by Dr Sarah Buckley MD, internationally acclaimed author of "Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering."Feeling anxious, alone or in the dark as a new mother to be? Where do you go to get your questions answered when you don’t have any mothers as the wise woman to turn to, the doctor is too busy to inform you of your options or discuss the pros and cons of various drugs and procedures on the menu, and you read virtually every magazine in the waiting room before he/ she can see you for five minutes at a time?Meanwhile, random strangers decide it is their maternal duty to share their birth horror stories when they spot the bump and the hospital antenatal classes leave you feeling even more fearful and anxious than you were before you walked in!Just when you thought you couldn’t bear to hear another horror story, along comes a fresh new book that is the answer to your prayers. More than just a random collection of stories, the author Katrina Zaslavsky, takes you on a powerful journey of discovery and gives you the keys to transforming your birth experience.Be empowered to experience the joy of natural birth on your own terms- Fear-Free, Drug- Free and maybe even Pain Free… (Hint: Get off the beds ladies and actively give birth rather than being delivered)..... and then become a part of the Positive Birth Revolution!!As seen on national media including TV, My Child and Nature & Health Magazines, Coles Baby & Toddler Club, recommended at Mum's Lounge and voted Favourite Product Finalist in the People's Choice AusMumpreneur Awards 2012. About the authorProfoundly impacted by her own personal journey into motherhood after overcoming her own extreme fears of childbirth, Katrina has become a passionate advocate of natural and conscious parenting, committed to supporting women to give birth naturally and overcome their fears in a world that has become so medicalised and fearful of something so perfectly natural.A former public health professional (in her "previous life" before children!) together with a lifelong passion for healthy living, over a decade in the natural health industry, a magazine columnist and most recently a committee member for Natural Parenting Melbourne, her calling is to awaken people to live a more conscious natural lifestyle and especially to empower women to discover their inner birth goddess! Available Now