To the Editor:—I read with interest the report of epidural anesthesia in a parturient with a lumboperitoneal shunt. Paravertebral lumbar sympathetic block is another method of providing labor analgesia in patients with a history of back surgery or spine disease. The technique is well-described. The block is performed at the L1 or L2 level. This method eliminates the theoretical concern of epidu...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate uterine activity during the third stage of labor and compare it to that observed in the second stage of labor. STUDY DESIGN Uterine electric activity was prospectively measured using electrical uterine myography (EUM) in 44 women with singleton pregnancy at term during the final 30 min of the second stage and throughout the third stage of labor. Results are reported usin...

BACKGROUND The diagnosis of labor onset has been described as one of the most important judgments in maternity care. There is compelling evidence that the duration of both latent and active phase labor are clinically important and require consistent approaches to measurement. In order to measure the duration of labor phases systematically, we need standard definitions of their onset. We reviewe...

introduction: despite wide use of hyoscine by midwives and doctors as an adjunct to labor, the obstetrics literature contains few references to the effect of this drug. this study was a double blinded, randomized controlled trial of primigravidas in iran to determine the effects of hyoscine intravenous injection on parturition (labor). methods:one hundred primigravidas in uncomplicated spontane...

Promotion of low-skilled off-farm rural labor market participation can be an important strategy to improve livelihoods and food security of the poor in developing countries. This paper investigates rural farm households' participation in low-skilled off-farm labor markets with disaggregate data from a survey of 400 households in Tigray, the northern highlands of Ethiopia. Adopting Heckman's two...

The major adaptations of the maternal cardiovascular system that progress throughout gestation may unmask previously unrecognized heart disease and result in significant morbidity and mortality. Most of these changes are almost fully reversed in the weeks and months after delivery. Hemodynamic changes during pregnancy include increased blood volume, cardiac output (CO), and maternal heart rate;...