Dystocia News and Research

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Simulation training helps students to score more on final examinations

Medical students who practiced on a patient simulator before assisting in real-life vaginal deliveries scored significantly higher on their final examinations than did students receiving a lecture only at the start of an obstetric clerkship.

3 Sep 2011

Type 2 diabetes and obesity in pregnancy is a daunting duo: New research

Type 2 diabetes and obesity in pregnancy is a daunting duo, according to new research published this month in The Journal of Maternal-Fetal and Neonatal Medicine. The study shows that both conditions independently contribute to higher risks, opening the door to a wide range of pregnancy, delivery and newborn complications.

26 Jul 2011

Number of big babies rise along with obstetric complications

Doctors say that with more babies born oversized mostly to obese or overweight mothers the risks of shoulder injury and getting stuck during labour is on the rise. Horrifyingly sometimes obstetricians are resorting to breaking baby’s collarbones to facilitate delivery because their shoulders get stuck during childbirth. This is usually done in a potentially life-threatening is known as shoulder dystocia that compresses the umbilical cord or puts pressure on the neck, leaving the child starved of oxygen if not delivered immediately.

30 Nov 2010

SOGC urges strategy for preventing deaths during delivery, childbirth

As the G8 approaches, the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC) is urging the Canadian government to recognize that a strategy on maternal and child health must focus on preventing deaths during delivery and childbirth as 80% of maternal deaths in low-resource countries take place at that time.

4 Jun 2010

Overall increase of cesarean births not due to maternal request

Fewer than two per cent of cesarean births in British Columbia were a result of maternal request, but the number of cesarean and assisted vaginal deliveries varied widely across health regions in B.C., according to a new study by University of British Columbia researchers.

31 May 2010

Pennsylvania's Patient Safety Advisory targets complications during pregnancy and childbirth

The complications of pregnancy and childbirth have been targeted in the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority's 2009 December Supplementary Patient Safety Advisory. The special issue provides gynecologists, obstetricians, midwives and the entire obstetric team, with strategies to help them prevent the complications based upon real Pennsylvania data.

17 Dec 2009

Study reveals disproportionately higher rate of primary c-sections among African-American women

A study released by Kaiser Permanente indicates that while the rate of cesarean-section (CS) deliveries for first-time moms has continued to increase over the last ten years, there is a disproportionately higher rate of primary c-sections among African-American women.

3 Oct 2009

Treatment of gestational diabetes benefits both infant and mother

A National Institutes of Health network study provided the first conclusive evidence that treating pregnant women who have even the mildest form of gestational diabetes can reduce the risk of common birth complications among infants, as well as blood pressure disorders among mothers.

1 Oct 2009

Routine screening is useful for identifying pregnant women with gestational diabetes

Pregnant women who develop marked increased blood sugar levels during pregnancy can reduce the risk of certain birth complications if they receive treatment. This is a prerequisite for offering all pregnant women routine screening for gestational diabetes.

11 Sep 2009

Mothers' high normal blood sugar levels place infants at risk for birth problems

Pregnant women with blood sugar levels in the higher range of normal - but not high enough to be considered diabetes - are more likely than women with lower blood sugar levels to give birth to babies at risk for many of the same problems seen in babies born to women with diabetes during pregnancy, according to a study funded in large part by the National Institutes of Health.

8 May 2008

Least forceful way to deliver a baby whose shoulders are stuck in the birth canal

Johns Hopkins researchers, using a novel birthing simulator designed by biomedical engineering faculty, staff and students at the University, have identified what may be the least forceful way to deliver a baby whose shoulders are stuck in the birth canal.

3 Jan 2005

Discovery of the oldest remains of a woman who died in childbirth

In ancient times, female death rates were particularly high and generally related to problems in maternity, such as complications during pregnancy, childbirth or the period of breast-feeding.

6 Oct 2004

Episiotomy does not reduce the risk of injury to infants during a complicated birth

A new study from Johns Hopkins suggests that routine widening of the vagina, a procedure known as an episiotomy, does not reduce the risk of injury to infants during a complicated birth, such as when a baby's shoulders are stuck in the birth canal after the head is already out.

4 Oct 2004

Obese women more likely to have pregnancy complications and caesarean sections than women of average weight

The controlled study is one of the largest ever to look at obesity in pregnancy, following more than 16,000 pregnant women at 14 medical centers across the country.

20 May 2004