Re: [ozmidwifery] Re Episiotomy

[Jayne]

Speaking from my own birth experiences (3), I support 'hands on' - my OWN hands!  This came so naturally - I just did it.  I remember with the last birth and I felt a ripple thru the water and I presumed the midwife was going to put a hand 'there', I yelled at her "DON'T TOUCH"!   Jayne   Actually Mary, if you want to get your hands on, the only position you can't is water birth (unless you are in the tub too (joke)) and possibly a deep squat.  We used the deBuy birth stool a lot there and trust me, you can definetly get your hands on. By hands on i am not meaning anything beyond perineal support (which as the article discusses is favoured by US midwives), and a gentle hand on the baby's head (not really doing much). Mum's (mom's) I attended in the USA truly expected this, perineal support especially is promoted in birth literature there. This means the midwife is also in many and varied positions.  I know it isn't usually done here, I don't know for how long it hasn't been done: before or after the Hoop trial?  It will be interesting to see what the outcomes of this study are, especially to see if it leads to practice change. By this  I mean if the study supports "hands off", then will US midwives change their practice? And if it supports "hands on" will Australian and Uk midwives change theirs?  Or will we have to do a repeat study here? Possibly the result will be ambiguous and claim there is no significant difference betweeen practices and so no change will happen anywhere. Interesting that's all.   marilyn