The final Midwifery Scope of Practice Meeting was held on Wednesday, May 15, 2013.  It is now time for the families of Arizona, and anyone else who believes that compassionate care is a human right’s issue for the mother and the baby to take a stand.

You can click on the links below to read a copy of the current draft rules and to see Wednesday’s proceedings:

Here is my statement on the Arizona Department of Health Services Website:

We have had a couple of students have had textbook “NAPS” in the last two classes…and since we still have several couples waiting for their babies, I thought this might be a reminder and an inspiration to them for their labors.  NAP – no, they didn’t take epic naps in labor (although I am a big advocate for sleeping in labor)…what it means is that they were very patient in their labors.   

One of the cornerstones of The Bradley Method® is a Healthy Mom, Healthy Baby outcome.  All of the discussion below only applies if Mom and Baby are not showing any signs of distress through labor.

In honor of Cesarean Awareness Month, I am going to devote the next two Tuesday posts with some information on cesareans.  I am not going to write a lot on how to avoid one in the first place or the specifics of a Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (“VBAC”) since there is already a wealth of information at the International Cesarean Awareness Network (“ICAN”) and Childbirth Connection websites. Instead I will offer an introduction to the topic for people who are not aware that cesareans are performed at an alarming high rate, and offer a quick look at causes and precautions.