The contents pages: Promoting Normal Birth

RESEARCH... ♥ Routine interventions during normal labor and birth… are they really necessary? – Els Hendrix (Belgium) 6 ♥ Epidural analgesia for pain management: the positive and the negative – Michael Klein (Canada) 20 ♥ Physiological care in the third and fourth stages of labor... When is it safe? – Kathleen Fahy and Carolyn Hastie (Australia) 30 ♥ A longer labor and birth… one size does not fit all! – Sarah Davies (UK) 44 ♥ Which models of care most effectively promote normality? – Robbie Davis- Floyd (USA) 55 ♥ The birth center as a place for normal birth – Susan Rutledge Stapleton (USA) 68 ♥ Pause to think and talk about birth centers and MLUs 79 ♥ Promoting home birth in accordance with the best scientific evidence – Ole Olsen (Denmark) 80 ♥ Maternal mental health: an overlooked need of mothers and its impact on positive childbirth – Shannon Senefeld (USA) 88 ♥ The value of lay support in protecting normal birth: the doula’s role – Adela Stockton (UK) 97 ♥ Key quotes: research 105 ♥ Pause to think and talk about research 106 ♥ Reflect and share further 107.

REFLECTIONS... ♥ Why a section on reflections? And where does it all lead? – Sylvie Donna 112 ♥ Reasons for intervention… but no justification – Ricardo Herbert Jones (Brazil) 113 ♥ RCTs and everyday practices... a troubled relationship – Jette Aaroe Clausen (Denmark) 127 ♥ The need to reconceptualize birth and harmonize the technological and biological models – Verena Schmid (Italy) 139 ♥ Power and professionalism in midwifery practice: impediment or precursor to normal birth? – Trudy Stevens (UK) 150 ♥ Embedding normality within the midwifery education curriculum – Linda Wylie, Karen McDonald, Evelyn Mahommad and Madge Russell (UK) 160 ♥ Reclaiming meanings for birth, pain and risk within the home setting – Céline Lemay (Canada) 170 ♥ What can we learn from traditional cultures in the promotion of normal birth? – Mandy Forrester (UK) 181 ♥ The challenge of promoting normality and midwifery in China – Ngai Fen Cheung and Anshi Pan (China) 190 ♥ Reflections on general principles for promoting normal birth in ‘developing’ countries – Trudy Stevens (UK) 204 ♥ The ’natural cesarean’ technique as inspiration for normalizing practice for all types of birth – Jenny Smith (UK) 210 ♥ Promoting homebirth within hospital-led birthing cultures – Asheya Hennessey (Canada) 219 ♥ Founding and building Midwifery Today to promote normal birth around the world – Jan Tritten (USA) 222 ♥ Key quotes: reflections 227 ♥ Pause to think and talk 228 ♥ Reflect and share further with Heba Zaphiriou-Zarifi (USA/Middle East) 230 ♥ Commentary to contemplate 233

GUIDELINES... ♥ Giving normal birth the best chance – Lesley Page (UK) 240 ♥ “I did it!” Empowering women through maternity care best practices – Ami Goldstein (USA) 250 ♥ Supporting epidural-free birth: a practice of kindness, courage and skill – Alex Smith (UK) 258 ♥ Water birth: a way of enhancing and promoting normality – Dianne Garland (UK) 270 ♥ New to using birthing pools? – Sylvie Donna 280 ♥ Pause to think and talk about birthing pools 281 ♥ Home birth from one midwife’s perspective – Valerie Bader (USA) 282 ♥ Promoting VBAC—reasons to encourage women to consider a VBAC and ways of inspiring them to achieve one – Hélène Vadeboncoeur (Canada) 286 ♥ The role of a regulatory body in promoting normal birth – Susan Way (UK) 297 ♥ Using the media to promote normal birth around the world – Naoli Vinaver (Mexico) 308 ♥ Words, images and metaphors as powerful tools for change – Sylvie Donna (UK) 313 ♥ Identifying progress, gaps and possible ways forward – Soo Downe (UK) 325 ♥ Key quotes: guidelines 338 ♥ Pause to think about talk about guidelines 339 ♥ Reflect and share further 340

A FEW WORDS FROM MARSDEN WAGNER, FORMER DIRECTOR AT THE W.H.O... “I strongly recommend this book to midwives, obstetricians, doctors and hospital administrators. It carefully reviews the scientific data.”