Coaching a slow birth with the woman in an empowered position may be less harmful than routine hands-on practice to protect against severe tears in birth - a discussion paper

ConclusionEvidence-based practice requires sufficient evaluation of interventions before being implemented in clinical practice as well as valuing the level of evidence when making clinical decisions. Evaluation of hands-on interventions to protect women from severe perineal tears must include not just one outcome of interest, but also an assessment of how the intervention interferes with the normal mechanism of birth, and how it affects neonatal outcomes and the autonomy of women.
Source: Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare - Category: Reproduction Medicine Source Type: research