The Art of Palpation ~ Wisdom from a Traditional Birth Companion
Palpation is the act of using one’s hands to figure out something on or in a body. In maternity services, the practitioner routinely palpates the pregnant belly to assess the position and size of the foetus.
After the male midwife, which later became the obstetrician, infiltrated birth services and paternalized it into a male-centric, provider-centric practice, they’ve been “discovering” all kinds of things that were just normally known and carried out by midwives for centuries. Among them is the standard way to palpate a pregnant belly.
I tend to see palpation through a different lens. I feel it’s more about building a relationship with the baby than anything else.
Hocus Pocus - The ARRIVE study says inductions reduce caesareans
In an epic sleight of hand, the US obstetrical industry has managed to produce a study that affirms the “benefits” of universal elective induction of labour at 39 weeks. Headlines have trumpeted this remarkable accomplishment! Inducing labour early “prevents” c-sections!
The conclusion of the much anticipated ARRIVE study are presented in their abstract:
“IOL (induction of labour) in low-risk nulliparous women (first-time mothers) results in a lower frequency of CD (caesarean delivery) without a statistically significant change in the frequency of a composite of adverse perinatal outcomes.”
Obstetricians now have the much-desired go-ahead to routinely induce healthy first-time mothers prior to reaching 40 weeks under the guise that it will reduce c-sections with no additional negative outcomes to the mother or baby.
This is the same outrageous chicanery that brought us the ridiculously executed Term Breech Trial that changed obstetrical practices around the world. It was the excuse the industry was looking for to do what they already wanted to do: surgery.