If you’ve ever been 38 weeks pregnant and played the waiting game wondering how your little one is going to let you know he or she is ready to come into this world, then you know it’s important to recognize the stages of labor and delivery. That way, when it’s time, there won’t be any [...]
The most commonly known methods to induce labor are evening primrose oil, riding in a bumpy vehicle, eating fresh pineapple, drinking red raspberry leaf tea, having sexual intercourse, manual or mechanical nipple stimulation, acupressure, stripping the membranes, walking, and drinking a castor oil cocktail. They all work very differently, and not all of them can [...]
More than 27% of all births in the United States are caesarean section surgeries. C-sections also happen to be a topic of heated debate as to when and under what circumstances the surgery should be done. Obstetricians have different opinions as to whether a woman might be considered “too small” to deliver her baby vaginally, [...]
Historically the first way to give birth, natural childbirth is a philosophy that, if adequately prepared, women can give birth to their child naturally without unnecessary medical intervention. Since the beginning of time women have given birth at home, generally assisted by a midwife, local doctor, or members of the woman’s family. Hypnobirthing is a [...]
Up until the 1920s, most mothers gave birth to their children at home surrounded by loved ones and assisted, perhaps, by a midwife. By the 1940s, a new standard of hospital childbirth was set, thought to be the ideal because the doctor at the hospital had all of the right tools beside him when he [...]
When a woman takes time off work to have a baby, it’s called maternity leave. In today’s modern age, it’s often referred to as parental or family leave. And despite the fact that it sounds like something only a pregnant woman would be given, both a mother and a father can use maternity leave for [...]