background & aim:  considering the fact that cesarean section (c-section) poses greater risks of maternal and neonatal complications, compared to vaginal delivery, scholars seek different strategies to decrease the prevalence of this surgical procedure. birth ball exercises during pregnancy are among the proposed strategies. thus, this study aimed to determine the effect of using birth ball dur...

Although much effort has gone into promoting early skin-to-skin contact and parental involvement at vaginal birth, caesarean birth remains entrenched in surgical and resuscitative rituals, which delay parental contact, impair maternal satisfaction and reduce breastfeeding. We describe a 'natural' approach that mimics the situation at vaginal birth by allowing (i) the parents to watch the birth ...

OBJECTIVE Most literature on length of stay (LOS) for childbirth focuses on 'early' discharge as opposed to 'optimal' time of discharge and has conflicting results due to heterogeneous definitions of 'early' discharge and differing eligibility criteria for these programmes. We aimed to determine the LOS associated with the lowest neonatal readmission rate following childbirth by examining the i...

BACKGROUND Empirical evidence regarding maternal quality and safety outcomes across heterogeneous Asian and Pacific Islanders subgroups in the United States is limited, despite the importance of this topic to health disparities research and quality improvement efforts. METHODS Detailed discharge data from all Hawai'i childbirth hospitalizations (n = 75,725) from 2008 to 2012 were considered. ...

Background & aim:  Considering the fact that cesarean section (c-section) poses greater risks of maternal and neonatal complications, compared to vaginal delivery, scholars seek different strategies to decrease the prevalence of this surgical procedure. Birth ball exercises during pregnancy are among the proposed strategies. Thus, this study aimed to determine the effect of using birth ball dur...

This study investigated the relation between self-reported vaginal bleeding during pregnancy and preterm birth in a prospective cohort of 2,829 pregnant women enrolled from prenatal clinics between 1995 and 2000 in central North Carolina. The overall association between vaginal bleeding and preterm birth was modest (risk ratio (RR) = 1.3, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.1, 1.6). Bleeding in the...