Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Active Phase Arrest: Have Some Patience!

This is an amazing and awesome video, posted by Jill at Unnecesarean. Check it out!!

"Active Phase Arrest" is when a mother dilates to some point in active labor (6 cm, 7 cm, etc.) and then doesn't dilate any further for two hours (a rather arbitrary definition, but there you have it). Current obstetrical practices generally funnel women who experience this into cesarean birth.

In this video, UCSF obstetrician Dr. Aaron Caughey discusses what happens when women in active phase arrest are given just two more hours of time to labor.... And voila! Vaginal birth for most of the women, with no decrease in infant condition and a great improvement in maternal outcomes. (What a surprise!) Of course, midwives have been practicing this way for a looonnnggg time, but hospital time schedules are hard things to alter. Maybe his research will start the process!

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