Weight Bias in Healthcare: We Can Do Better
Recent national attention combined with a strong body of evidence has recognized the deleterious impact of equating weight with health. For example, James Corden on the Late Late Show responded to a...
Reduced Access to Midwives During the COVID-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic brought new pressure on the healthcare workforce, and midwives were no exception. Because maternity care is essential, midwives quickly reorganized their practices to reduce the risk of transmission. Midwives...
Maneuvering Through the Challenges of Shoulder Dystocia
Shoulder dystocia is a phrase that strikes fear in many of us – fear of it happening, fear of not managing the problem fast enough, fear of causing injury while trying to...
Oral Contraceptive Pills and Sexual Dysfunction
Oral contraceptive pills (OCPs), and other estrogen-containing contraceptives (e.g., ring and patch), are an excellent choice for some women and have many health benefits. Besides being highly effective contraception, they can decrease...
The Realities of COVID-19: Impact and Implications for Facility Birth
Emma Clark, CNM, MSN, MHS; Senior Maternal Health Advisor, USAID Contractor, GHSI-III
Shortly after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 pandemic, home...
Changes in Home and Birth Center Birth During COVID-19
In March and April of 2020, our home birth practice phone rang constantly and email inquiries through our website came in multiple times a day. This immediate change in demand for community birth...
Midwifery Burnout and the Importance of Work-Life Balance
I can remember exactly when I hit a wall and said I need a change in my life. I had been doing home births for three days in a row and just got...
Evaluating mHealth Apps for Education and Clinical Practice: Translating the MARS Tool
Mobile health care technology has made numerous strides over the past decade. These technologies include a variety of sophisticated informatics tools, including mobile applications for providers, educators, and patients, telehealth tools for...
Anxiety Symptoms and Severity Among Perinatal Women Screened for Depression with the Edinburgh Postnatal...
The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) is a well-known screening tool for clinical use in identifying perinatal depression symptoms and risk for perinatal depression. Did you know the EPDS also can be...
Disparities in Maternal Morality in the U.S.
700 women die annually in the United States due to conditions caused by or related to pregnancy. For another 500,000 women, severe morbidities or ‘near misses’ complicate their pregnancies, deliveries, or first...