Mother Me Midwifery

06/11/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1EWYzrUQ32/?mibextid=wwXIfr

🚨🚨 Breaking: New study highlights induction of labor patterns increased beyond 39 weeks into early term and even preterm gestations.

The summary is simply this: induction of labor before 39 weeks has been normalized rather than remaining rare and ONLY for clear medical indication.

Conclusion:
"Our study shows that labor induction expanded to gestational ages before 39 weeks, the limit of evidence-based support for nonmedical labor induction,4,7–10 with disproportionate and sustained growth at 37 to 38 weeks of gestation through 2024.

Randomized data supporting the benefits of nonmedically indicated labor inductions are limited to 39 weeks of gestation and beyond.3

This extension of labor inductions before 39 weeks of gestation is consistent with the normalization of deviance, whereby repeated acceptance of an intervention gradually erodes adherence to its original evidentiary boundaries.11,12

The highly linear growth (R2>0.99) at 37 and 38 weeks of gestation suggests that practices initially framed as exceptional have transitioned into a more routine pattern, occurring in the absence of supporting evidence.

Because natality data lack conclusive granular clinical detail, our findings are only suggestive regarding the inappropriateness of labor inductions when there is no medical or obstetrical indication before 39 weeks of gestation.

In addition, sustained acceleration through 2024 suggests that the practice patterns are distinct from temporary pandemic adjustments. These findings provide an empirical basis to re-examine current labor induction practices sanctioning labor inductions without medical or obstetrical indications at 39 weeks of gestation and caution against extending 39-week labor induction to earlier gestational ages in the absence of a documented medical or obstetrical indication."

What does this mean for parents and doulas? Ask questions. Why is induction being offered? What is the medical reason? What are the benefits and risks specific to ME?

It's also important to familiarize yourself with the birth culture and climate in your area as it can vary greatly.

👇🏽 Did you feel pressured into induction?

06/08/2026

You walk into the hospital assuming you must say yes to everything. Continuous monitoring, lying on your back, immediate cord clamping, episiotomies, induction timelines. But here's what nobody tells you: recommendations are not commands. Your birth rights don't disappear at the hospital door, and informed consent means you can ask questions, refuse interventions, and make decisions about your own body and baby.

You can legally ask why any procedure is necessary. You can request alternatives. You can refuse or delay interventions unless there's a clear, explained medical emergency. You can move during labor, change positions, and choose how you want to birth. Decades of hospital culture trained women to be quiet and cooperative, but understanding your options before you're exhausted or in pain transforms birth from something done to you into an experience you actively navigate.

Research shows women who feel informed and involved in decision-making report significantly lower birth trauma and higher satisfaction. Knowledge changes everything. When you know you can say no, ask questions, and advocate for yourself, you reclaim your power in one of life's most vulnerable moments. Birth is not something happening to you - it's an experience you deserve to move through with clarity, support, and complete autonomy over your choices.

06/07/2026

What a beautiful morning to greet a sweet new babe.

107:1 O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

06/06/2026

June has been a busy month thus far! 💙💙Today I was blessed to visit with two of our sweet families, one due anytime and another expecting in July.

06/03/2026

🖐🏻👇🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Preeclampsia is not a single disease; it's a multi-system dysfunction.

Clinically, it’s defined as new‑onset hypertension after 20 weeks with proteinuria, and/or maternal organ dysfunction, and/or uteroplacental dysfunction such as fetal growth restriction. In classic, placenta‑driven preeclampsia, this pattern reflects injury at the maternal–fetal interface, whether the primary driver is maternal vascular disease, fetal/placental factors, or both.

Emerging research is helping us to recognize distinct preeclampsia patterns that point to whether the origin is more maternal or fetal, with the common thread being that preeclampsia is placental-driven.

However, some pregnancies look and behave like preeclampsia (Hypertension, proteinuria, abnormal labs, additional symptoms....) but are not placenta. These are preeclampsia mimickers...conditions that cause systemic maternal dysfunction or symptoms that are akin to preeclampsia but are not actually preeclampsia.

Over the next few weeks, I am going to cover what the research says about using standard labs to differentiate true preeclampsia from PE-mimickers and help you distinguish underlying etiology.

The intent is to move past basic symptom-checklist diagnosis and into true pattern recognition...using the labs you are already drawing and introducing you to some new ones.

05/25/2026

Can we just stop with scaring the mamas please??

⭐ Stillbirth risk by gestational week (U.S. and U.K. data)
Large population studies show that the absolute risk of stillbirth remains extremely low between 39–42 weeks:

39 weeks: ~0.9 per 1,000 ongoing pregnancies (≈99.9% chance of baby being born alive)

40 weeks: ~1.0 per 1,000 (≈99.9%)

41 weeks: ~1.3 per 1,000 (≈99.8%)

42 weeks: ~1.7 per 1,000 (≈99.7%)

These figures come from national datasets like the CDC’s National Vital Statistics and the U.K. Office for National Statistics, as well as peer‑reviewed studies in Obstetrics & Gynecology and BJOG.