Push early in delivering the first baby, US study says
Women in their first pregnancy should push early in the delivery, as soon as the cervix is fully dilated, in order to minimize risks to themselves and the baby, according to a study of 2,000 American mothers.
Several previous studies have had mixed or contradictory findings on the two most common techniques used in American maternity wards: pushing immediately or waiting about an hour in order to encourage spontaneous birth, which some doctors believe reduces the need for cesareans or forceps.
From May 2014 to December 2017, six American hospitals participated in a study to determine which method is the safest for mother and child.
Hospital staff advised half the women to push immediately after being fully dilated while recommending the others to wait an hour longer.
The 2,400 women who participated were randomly placed in either group. All had received an epidural or other pain relief.
In the study published recently in the “JAMA” journal, the researchers concluded that pushing immediately reduced the risk of complications such as infections and hemorrhage for the mother, even if there was a greater risk of significant perineal tearing.
They also found that pushing as soon as the cervix is fully dilated didn’t increase the number of C-sections, and the second stage of labor was half an hour shorter for those women.
As for the newborns, the risk of infection increased when women waited longer before pushing.
The study thus leaned more heavily toward recommending prompt pushing.
“Our findings suggest that women becoming moms for the first time should begin pushing right away when they become completely dilated, for the best outcome for themselves and for their babies,” lead author Alison Cahill, an obstetrician at Washington University in St Louis, told NPR radio.
The study, however, cannot be generalized to all pregnant women as it only concerned those giving birth for the first time following normal pregnancies and more than 37 weeks of gestation. But it could help change practices at US maternity wards.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
- RSS
- |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证:沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证:31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证:0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证:沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证:沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.