January 2-6, 2007; Riviera Maya, Mexico

November 10, 2006; Corvallis, Oregon.

 March 14-18, 2007; Eugene, Oregon 

In an original study, researchers in Malaysia found that women who reported having sexual intercourse during the last month of pregnancy were more likely to go into labor before 41 weeks gestation and to avoid labor induction than women who did not have intercourse.  

October 13-15, 2006; Baltimore, Maryland; sponsored by the Midwives Alliance of North America in cooperation with The Midwifery Education Accreditation Council

September 14-17, 2006; Valley Forge, Pennsylvania; sponsored by the American Association of Birth Centers.

Birth, a highly respected, peer-reviewed multi-disciplinary journal,  just published findings of research on the more-than-twofold increase in neonatal mortality with cesarean birth over vaginal birth in low-risk women.  These significant findings should be presented to women who are considering an elective cesarean section.

I am still wrestling with the comments on my blog piece on pre-eclampsia and how to respond to them.  The more I read and think about it, the more I see the complexity of this issue.

The largest prospective study of planned home birth with a direct-entry midwife shows that homebirth is as safe as hospital birth for low risk women, yet carries a much lower rate of medical interventions, including Cesarean section.

February 22-25, 2007; Los Angeles, California; sponsored by the Association for Prenatal & Perinatal Psychology & Health.