Most women give birth in hospitals, institutions modelled around the needs of the people who work there. The delivery room is designed around the obstetric bed which was designed for the benefit of the obstetrician rather than the woman giving birth. Despite research showing the benefit of upright positions in labour and birth, most women in the UK still give birth in the semi-reclined position, pushing their baby out against the forces of gravity. The author argues that unnatural positions make labour and birth more painful and difficult for modern women than it was for their ancestors. How did we come to put the needs of care givers above those of the labouring woman? Is there anything that can be done? Starting with a short history of birth furniture, Dynamic Positions in Birth goes on to explore the anatomy and physiology of labour from an evolutionary perspective and explores how rethinking positions for labour and birth could benefit mothers and their babies. Equally important is the need to change attitudes to birth so that women are encouraged to play a more active part in the birth of their babies instead of being subjected to clinical interventions designed to mitigate the adverse effects of labouring in a starkly unnatural environment. Margaret Jowitt argues that it is possible to give women labouring in hospital a better chance of giving birth naturally. The book concludes by calling for a fresh look at the environment for birth. Delivery rooms can be made more user friendly by introducing furniture designed around women’s need for physical support during labour as well as for the birth, and by hiding away the more alarming technology unless it is needed. Women need a less forbidding environment and more encouragement to move freely and adopt positions which will enhance their chance of achieving a normal birth.

An illustrated hands-on guide to the dynamics of the female pelvis for expectant mothers, midwives, and birth professionals • Provides fully illustrated exercises to help the expectant mother prepare her pelvis for birth and gain confidence in her body’s innate ability to birth her child • Details the anatomical intricacies of the female pelvis and its capabilities for expansion and return to its original form • Presents movements and positions to ease discomfort, enhance the productivity of contractions, aid the internal expansion of the pelvis, and prevent and treat issues that may arise such as “failure to progress” The dynamic power of the female pelvis is the key to a gentle birth. Throughout pregnancy, hormones soften the ligaments and joints of the pelvis in preparation for labor, a time when the four bones of the pelvis--the two ilia (hip bones), the coccyx (tailbone), and the sacrum--do their intimate dance of release, rotation, and counter-rotation around the soon-to-be newborn. In this hands-on guide based on 15 years of research and workshops in maternity wards, movement teachers and health professionals Blandine Calais-Germain and Núria Vives Parés detail the anatomical intricacies of the female pelvis and its capabilities for expansion and return to its original form. Providing fully illustrated exercises to help the expectant mother prepare for this pelvic transformation and gain confidence in her body’s innate ability to birth her child, they also present a variety of movements and positions for use during the different stages of labor to ease discomfort, enhance the productivity of contractions, aid the internal expansion of the pelvis, and prevent and treat issues that may arise such as “failure to progress.” Ideal for the expectant mother and her birthing partner, this book will be a welcome addition to the library of every midwife, obstetrician, doula, and movement professional who teaches pregnant women.

Praise for the previous edition: "This...edition is timely, useful, well organized, and should be in the bags of all doulas, nurses, midwives, physicians, and students involved in childbirth." –Journal of Midwifery and Women's Health The Labor Progress Handbook: Early Interventions to Prevent and Treat Dystocia is an unparalleled resource on simple, non-invasive interventions to prevent or treat difficult or prolonged labor. Thoroughly updated and highly illustrated, the book shows how to tailor one’s care to the suspected etiology of the problem, using the least complex interventions first, followed by more complex interventions if necessary. This new edition now includes a new chapter on reducing dystocia in labors with epidurals, new material on the microbiome, as well as information on new counselling approaches specially designed for midwives to assist those who have had traumatic childbirths. Fully referenced and full of practical instructions throughout, The Labor Progress Handbook continues to be an indispensable guide for novices and experts alike who will benefit from its concise and accessible content.

It's time for a childbirth revolution.The modern approach to maternity care fails women, families and care providers with outdated practices that centre the needs of institutions rather than individuals.In this book, Rachel Reed weaves history, science and research with the experiences of women and care providers to create a holistic, evidence-based framework for understanding birth.Reclaiming childbirth as a rite of passage requires us to recognise that mothers own the power and expertise when it comes to birthing their babies.Whether you are a parent, care provider or educator, this book will transform how you think and feel about childbirth.

This book offers readers fresh insights on applying Extended Reality to Digital Anatomy, a novel emerging discipline. Indeed, the way professors teach anatomy in classrooms is changing rapidly as novel technology-based approaches become ever more accessible. Recent studies show that Virtual (VR), Augmented (AR), and Mixed-Reality (MR) can improve both retention and learning outcomes. Readers will find relevant tutorials about three-dimensional reconstruction techniques to perform virtual dissections. Several chapters serve as practical manuals for students and trainers in anatomy to refresh or develop their Digital Anatomy skills. We developed this book as a support tool for collaborative efforts around Digital Anatomy, especially in distance learning, international and interdisciplinary contexts. We aim to leverage source material in this book to support new Digital Anatomy courses and syllabi in interdepartmental, interdisciplinary collaborations. Digital Anatomy – Applications of Virtual, Mixed and Augmented Reality provides a valuable tool to foster cross-disciplinary dialogues between anatomists, surgeons, radiologists, clinicians, computer scientists, course designers, and industry practitioners. It is the result of a multidisciplinary exercise and will undoubtedly catalyze new specialties and collaborative Master and Doctoral level courses world-wide. In this perspective, the UNESCO Chair in digital anatomy was created at the Paris Descartes University in 2015 (www.anatomieunesco.org). It aims to federate the education of anatomy around university partners from all over the world, wishing to use these new 3D modeling techniques of the human body.

Children are already learning at birth, and they develop and learn at a rapid pace in their early years. This provides a critical foundation for lifelong progress, and the adults who provide for the care and the education of young children bear a great responsibility for their health, development, and learning. Despite the fact that they share the same objective - to nurture young children and secure their future success - the various practitioners who contribute to the care and the education of children from birth through age 8 are not acknowledged as a workforce unified by the common knowledge and competencies needed to do their jobs well. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 explores the science of child development, particularly looking at implications for the professionals who work with children. This report examines the current capacities and practices of the workforce, the settings in which they work, the policies and infrastructure that set qualifications and provide professional learning, and the government agencies and other funders who support and oversee these systems. This book then makes recommendations to improve the quality of professional practice and the practice environment for care and education professionals. These detailed recommendations create a blueprint for action that builds on a unifying foundation of child development and early learning, shared knowledge and competencies for care and education professionals, and principles for effective professional learning. Young children thrive and learn best when they have secure, positive relationships with adults who are knowledgeable about how to support their development and learning and are responsive to their individual progress. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 offers guidance on system changes to improve the quality of professional practice, specific actions to improve professional learning systems and workforce development, and research to continue to build the knowledge base in ways that will directly advance and inform future actions. The recommendations of this book provide an opportunity to improve the quality of the care and the education that children receive, and ultimately improve outcomes for children.