One in every 8 babies born in the US is premature. A new study (pdf/via) published online Wednesday in Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology indicates that vaginal progesterone gel can help women who are pregnant for the first time and at risk of premature birth extend their pregnancies, reduce potential complications and boost the health of their newborns. [more inside]
posted by zarq on Apr 8, 2011 - 18 comments

Let's Panic About Babies! "Fortunately for everyone in the whole wide world, Alice Bradley and Eden M. Kennedy have created the only website that accurately explains the journey from morning sickness to third-degree tears to keeping that baby alive for a year–or more! LET’S PANIC ABOUT BABIES will serve as a salve to the mystery and degradation of this most female of challenges. Its authors may not have 'science' on their side, but what they do have is far more valuable: a heady mélange of female intuition, sentence-forming know-how, and the achingly vivid memories of their own gestational journeys and unending motherhoods. So join Alice and Eden as they tell you exactly what to think and feel and do on every one of your 2,681 days* of pregnancy. They know everything! * 'Science' would tell you that human gestation is actually, on average, 266 days. This is one of many ways in which science is terribly wrong." [more inside]
posted by ocherdraco on Aug 19, 2009 - 63 comments

virtual labor
posted by konolia on May 3, 2007 - 31 comments

Water birth is an alternative to standard hospital labor where the woman gives birth in a pool of water. Many hospitals/birth centers now offer the option of a water birth, or the mother-to-be can choose from a wide variety of birthing pools for labor at home, usually assisted by a midwife/nurse with experience in waterbirth. There are many benefits of a gentle introduction to the world by being born in water, and the testimonials make it sound like a great option. Note: some links may be NSFW. [more inside]
posted by widdershins on Dec 22, 2003 - 17 comments

Woman gives birth on a Boston train while refusing help from onlookers. While the story of the birth is unusual, what interests me is that her two other children were placed in protective custody. Was this warranted? [more inside]
posted by widdershins on Aug 1, 2003 - 19 comments