Choosing a Health Care Provider

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More Questions to Ask

Philosophies of Care

Midwives

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Obstetricians

Philosophies of Care

Midwives Model of Care

Medical Model of Care

Humanizing Birth

Mother-Friendly Childbirth Initiative

Lamaze Institute for Normal Birth
Today's routinemedical management of birth anticipates "trouble" instead of allowing the normal birth process to unfold and increases the likelihood ofinjury to both mother and baby without assuring improved outcomes.

To encourage positive birth outcomes, the Lamaze Institute for Normal Birth has identified and updated six carepractices, adapted from the World Health Organization, that promote,support and protect normal birth. When adopted, these care practices can have a profound effect—instilling confidence in the mother, andfacilitating a process that results in an active, healthy baby.

CarePractice #1: Labor Begins on Its Own—Labor is a set of complex, interacting components. Alteration of the natural process canexpose a woman and her baby to unneeded risks.

CarePractice #2: Freedom of Movement Throughout Labor—Free movement during labor allows a woman to tolerate contractions andassist the baby's rotation and movement through the pelvis.

CarePractice #3: Continuous Labor Support—Current research supports the benefits of continuous emotional and physical supportduring labor.

CarePractice #4: No Routine Interventions—Supporting natural, normal, physiologic process of birth requires clear medical indications prior to any medical intervention.

Care Practice #5: Spontaneous Pushing in Upright or Gravity-Neutral Positions —Allowing a woman to find the positions of comfort and encouraging her to push in response to what she is feeling is beneficial to the birth process.

CarePractice #6: No Separation of Mother and Baby, with Unlimited Opportunities for Breastfeeding —When a baby is kept with the mother, there are physiological benefits to both, including the facilitation of breastfeeding.

Lamaze International recommends that care providers, hospitals and birth centers adopt these six practices as standards of care andencourages women and their families to choose care providers and birthsettings that employ care practices that promote, support and protect normal birth.

All six revised care practice papers can be found in their entirety in the latest issue of The Journal of Perinatal Education or may be downloaded from www.lamaze.org.