The protocol to induce for postdates at 41 weeks was accepted by medical professionals about 10 years ago. The randomized controlled trials (RCT) for this protocol are based on poor quality studies that included births at high risk of perinatal death, such as premature births and those of diabetics, and entail high rates of noncompliance with protocol (Cohain 2015). There is no good evidence that induction for postdates among low-risk women results in better outcomes for mother or baby.
Letter to the editor, by Judy Slome Cohain
About 5 to 10% of newborns are born with tongue-tie. The majority of newborns with tongue-tie have no problem breastfeeding or bottle-feeding and their mothers do not suffer nipple pain. Among women with unresolved nipple pain from breastfeeding, nipple pain was decreased significantly if the baby either had a frenotomy or a sham procedure. Frenotomy should be painless for the baby, cause at most two drops of blood loss, and the baby should not cry more than 10 seconds.
A simple fix can prevent nausea and vomiting in a planned pregnancy.
Agnes is a Hungarian doctor and midwife who faces prison as a punishment for attending homebirths. Slome Cohain argues that midwives need to document the homebirths they provide, to show that they are safe.
Twenty-two papers published in medical journals reached a conclusion that Asian women have shorter perineums, despite the fact that this is not so in Asia. She concludes that the problem is impatience and interference by doctors.
Slome Cohain responds to a study published in the Journal of Midwifery and Women’s Health that advocated taking mothers from their babies one hour after birth for a hot bath to relieve pain.
Many women experience bleeding in the first trimester but do not miscarry, yet few studies have evaluated it. Slome Cohain parses the medical evidence, concluding that first trimester bleeding is usually of no consequence.
The author challenges the status quo of time limits in labor. With illustrative photos, she shares her personal experiences with long second stage labors with moulding—noting the lack of documented causation between the status quo and adverse outcomes.
