Methodological Innovations

New Largest Ever Waterbirth Study

Click here to learn more about the study. Click here to request a PDF of the full paper.

Utility of the 5-Minute Apgar Score as a Research Endpoint.

Abstract Although Apgar scores are commonly used as proxy outcomes, little evidence exists in support of the most common cutpoints (<7, <4). We used 2 data sets to explore this issue: one contained planned community births from across the United States (n = 52,877; 2012-2016), and the other contained hospital…

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Precision maternity care: Using big data to understand trends and to make change happen

Find the full study Subscription only. To request a copy, contact us here Citation Cheyney, M. and L. Peters. (2019). Precision maternity care: Using big data to understand trends and to make change happen. In Squaring the Circle: Researching normal childbirth in a technological world. S.M. Downe and S. Byrom, eds. Pinter and…

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Temporal Themes in Periviable Birth: A Qualitative Analysis of Patient Experiences

Abstract Objective Periviable birth accounts for a very small percentage of preterm deliveries but a large proportion of perinatal and neonatal morbidity. Understanding parental experiences during and after periviable deliveries may help healthcare providers determine how to best support women during these medically complex, emotionally charged clinical encounters. Methods This…

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What is Big data?

Find the full study Subscription only. To request a copy, contact us here Citation Peters, L. and M. Cheyney. (2018) What is Big data? Vereniging voor epidemiologie. Pp. 6-7.

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The curse of the perinatal epidemiologist: inferring causation amidst selection.

Abstract Abstract PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Human reproduction is a common process and one that unfolds over a relatively short time, but pregnancy and birth processes are challenging to study. Selection occurs at every step of this process (e.g., infertility, early pregnancy loss, and stillbirth), adding substantial bias to estimated exposure-outcome…

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Asking different questions: A call to action for research to improve the quality of care for every woman, every child

Abstract Despite decades of considerable economic investment in improving the health of families and newborns world-wide, aspirations for maternal and newborn health have yet to be attained in many regions. The global turn toward recognizing the importance of positive experiences of pregnancy, intrapartum and postnatal care, and care in the…

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Making US Out-of Hospital Birth Safer Requires Systems Change

Abstract Birth is as safe as life gets. – Harriette Hartigan, direct-entry midwife What one deems “safe” is inherently subjective, involving a series of judgments and a relative weighing of multiple (and sometimes conflicting) factors. Find full study Subscription only. To request a copy, contact us here Citation Tilden, E.,…

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Exposure analysis methods impact associations between maternal physical activity and cesarean delivery.

Abstract BACKGROUND: Previous studies report conflicting results regarding a possible association between maternal physical activity (PA) and cesarean delivery. METHODS: Seven-day PA recalls were collected by telephone from pregnant women (n = 1205) from North Carolina, without prior cesarean, during 2 time windows: 17 to 22 weeks and 27 to…

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Transfer from Planned Home Birth to Hospital: Improving Inter-professional Collaboration

Abstract Women’s heightened interest in choice of birthplace and increased rates of planned home birth in the United States have been well documented, yet there remains significant public and professional debate about the ethics of planned home birth in jurisdictions where care is not clearly integrated across birth settings. Simultaneously,…

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Development and validation of a national data registry for midwife-led births: the Midwives Alliance of North America Statistics Project 2.0 dataset.

Abstract INTRODUCTION: In 2004, the Midwives Alliance of North America’s (MANA’s) Division of Research developed a Web-based data collection system to gather information on the practices and outcomes associated with midwife-led births in the United States. This system, called the MANA Statistics Project (MANA Stats), grew out of a widely…

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