The gentlebirth.org website is provided courtesy of
Ronnie Falcao, LM MS,
a homebirth midwife in Mountain View, CA
The gentlebirth.org website is provided courtesy of
Ronnie Falcao, LM MS,
a homebirth midwife in Mountain View, CA
|
If you know any birth attendants who are still practicing premature clamping and cutting of the cord, encourage them to watch this video of a grand rounds with Dr. Nicholas Fogelson at USC. It's got lots of research and an open-minded perspective. |
Evidence-Based
Practices for the Fetal to Newborn Transition
Judith S. Mercer, CNM, DNSc; Debra A. Erickson-Owens, CNM, MS, ; Barbara
Graves, CNM, MN, MPH; Mary Mumford Haley, CNM, MS
"Although immediate cord clamping is common practice, recent evidence
from large randomized, controlled trials suggests that delayed cord clamping
may protect the infant against anemia. Skin-to-skin care of the newborn
after birth is recommended as the mainstay of newborn thermoregulation
and care. Routine suctioning of infants at birth was not been found to
be beneficial. . . . This review of evidence on newborn care practices
reveals that more often than not, less intervention is better. The recommendations
support a gentle, physiologic birth and family-centered care of the newborn."
Kangaroo Mother Care Promotions aims to promote the spread and implementation of Kangaroo Mother Care as the standard method of care for all newborn babies, both premature and full term. This is the website of Dr. Nils Bergman.
New
Research Shows “Kangaroo Mother Care” Reduces Newborn Deaths More than
50 Percent, Proven to be More Effective than Incubators for Stable Preterm
Babies [3/26/10] - Up To Half A Million Newborn Lives Could Be Saved
Each Year
Parenting
in the NICU: Holding Your Baby Close: Kangaroo Care from the March
of Dimes.
From the American Academy of Pediatrics [ #3 AAP Recommendations]:
Healthy infants should be placed and remain in direct skin-to-skin contact
with their mothers immediately after delivery until the first feeding is
ac=
complished.
The alert, healthy newborn infant is capable of latching on to a breast
without specific assistance within the first hour after birth. Dry the
infant,=
assign Apgar scores, and perform the initial physical assessment
while the infant is with the mother. The mother is an optimal heat source
for the in=
fant. Delay weighing, measuring, bathing, needle-sticks, and eye prophylaxis
until after the first feeding is completed. Infants affected by maternal
=
medications may require assistance for effective latch-on. Except under
unusual circumstances, the newborn infant should remain with the mother
throughout the recovery period.
The Importance
of Skin to Skin Contact by Jack Newman, MD, FRCPC
Birth KMC - As
originally described, and as generally practiced worldwide, skin-to-skin
contact is only “allowed” after the baby has stabilised. The assumption
therefore is that a baby requires incubator care in order to stabilise.
The reality is that incubators actually “de-stabilise” newborns.
Kangaroo
Mother Care - a practical guide (from World Health Organization - WHO)
International Network for
Kangaroo Mother Care
The
effect of skin-to-skin contact (kangaroo care) shortly after birth on the
neurobehavioral responses of the term newborn: a randomized, controlled
trial.
Ferber SG, Makhoul IR.
Pediatrics. 2004 Apr;113(4):858-65.
"KC seems to influence state organization and motor system modulation
of the newborn infant shortly after delivery. The significance of our findings
for supportive transition from the womb to the extrauterine environment
is discussed. Medical and nursing staff may be well advised to provide
this kind of care shortly after birth."
Skin-to-Skin Contact
Beneficial in Healthy Term Newborns by Laurie Barclay, MD [Medscape]
Investigators in this randomized trial suggest using this method of
"kangaroo care" shortly after birth to improve neurobehavioral responses.
The effect of skin-to-skin contact (kangaroo care) shortly after birth
on the neurobehavioral responses of the term newborn: a randomized, controlled
trial.
Ferber SG, Makhoul IR.
Pediatrics. 2004 Apr;113(4):858-65.
CONCLUSIONS: KC seems to influence state organization and motor system
modulation of the newborn infant shortly after delivery. The significance
of our findings for supportive transition from the womb to the extrauterine
environment is discussed. Medical and nursing staff may be well advised
to provide this kind of care shortly after birth.
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