Obstetric Technology Research Articles

Choice and control as experienced by Chinese and Scottish childbearing women in Scotland

Objective: to provide some insights as to how women's childbearing experiences might be improved. Design: a qualitative comparative approach. Setting: maternity units in Scotland Method: two case comparison, four tape-recorded semi-structured interviews with each of ten Chinese and ten Scottish women, and one unstructured interview with 45 health workers, women's relatives and friends. This study was set against the background of existing literature and the author's personal experience as a midwife in both Chinese and Scottish societies and as a Chinese mother having her first baby in Scotland. Findings: the issues of ‘choice’ and ‘control’ in childbearing regulated the social relationships between women, women's bodies, their babies, health workers, obstetric technology and the wider social context. Although the Chinese and Scottish women under investigation were in Scotland, their different cultural backgrounds gave them different expectations, choices and experiences. These differences are further examples of the social and cultural construction of choice and control. Conclusion: ‘choice’ and ‘control’ offered some new dimension for the women to achieve; for the health workers and society to facilitate a new dynamic and stimulating childbearing experience. Women's bodies' cues, their babies and their feeling of being in control could be important in the management and their experience of care.

Easy and effective--web-based information systems designed and maintained by physicians: experience with two gynecological projects.

It is well established that medical information sources develop continuously from printed media to digital online sources. To demonstrate effectiveness and feasibility of decentralized performed web-based information sources for health professionals, two projects are described. The information platform of the German Working Group for Information Technologies in Gynecology and Obstetrics (AIG) and the information source concerning the German Registry for in vitro fertilization (DIR) were implemented using ordinary software and standard computer equipment. Only minimal resources and training were necessary to perform safe and reliable web-based information sources with a high correlation of effectiveness in costs and time exposure.

Ultrasonido de tercera dimensión en obstetricia y ginecología

El reciente desarrollo de la tecnología del ultrasonido ha permitido disponer del ultrasonido de tercera dimensión(U3D). Este recurso ofrece la posibilidad de realizar volumetría de órganos y estructuras. Permite el análisis multiplanar y obtener imágenes derivadas de diversas superficies. Se revisan las aplicaciones del U3D en obstetricia: el cálculo del peso fetal estimado, obtención del pliegue nucal, diagnóstico de malformaciones congénitas, análisis volumétrico, y las aplicaciones en ginecología: patología anexial y endometrial y malformaciones mullerianas.

Current responsibility of information processing in gynecology

Rapid development and innovative research in medical computer science influences physicians work. Not only new hardware but also network implementation changed the way of decision making techniques in medicine. The main reason for acceptance and distribution of the internet is the possibility to present information in a reasonable and contemporary way. A self-labeling of medical information by web authors and systematic critical appraisal of health-related internet information by third parties may help to filter harmful health information and to positively identify and select high quality information. The German Work Group for Information Technologies in Gynecology and Obstetrics (AIG) informs physicians about health care issues related to computer science.

New communication platforms in gynecology exemplified by the Professional Group for Information Processing in Gynecology and Obstetrics and the German IVF Registry

Main reason for acceptance and distribution of the internet is the possibility to present information in a reasonable and contemporary way. Therefore the internet changed the way of decision making techniques in medicine. Two different information platforms for gynecological and reproductive topics have been created. The German Register for In-Vitro-Fertilization (DIR) collect data for quality assessment in reproductive medicine. The Work Group for Information Technologies in Gynecology and Obstetrics (AIG) will establish methods and new techniques to support treatments and science.

New laser technologies in surgery, obstetrics and gynecology

The ultraviolet laser spectrofluorimetry method for the diagnosis of urgent surgical disrases of abdominal cavity organs and the determination of their vitality is determined. The experimental studies showed the possibility of the use of Nd: YAG-Iaser for sutureless connection of uterus wound edges and geometric recovery of serous integument on the basis of tissue welding. The use of the laser welding suture in the clinic made it possible to decrease by a factor of three the frequency of occurence of pyo-inflammatory complications after caesarean section and uterus supravaginal amputation

Validation of fetal telemedicine as a new obstetric imaging technology

Validation of fetal telemedicine as a new obstetric imaging technology

Maternal mortality and women's condition: “The distress in being a woman”

For millenaria, maternal mortality has been considered as a fatality inherent to women's condition. Thanks to the progress of the obstetric technology, the world M.M.R. fell from 2.000 to 400 per 100.000 births during the past 150 years. At the same time women's condition improved chiefly because of a better level of education.

Issues in private practice: Midwife care—the future

The future for private practitioner midwives depends on an understanding of why such care is not only safe for the mother and her baby, but the ideal. Continuity of caregiver has been shown to reduce the mother's need for obstetric intervention. Skilled medical attention is appropriate when and if it becomes necessary. The inappropriate use of obstetric technology carries a cost to the mother, the child, and society. Many constraints exist in Victoria to autonomous midwife practice. The challenge before us is to support one another in our vision for life.

Berry Aneurysm

Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage in a pregnant woman is a rare catastrophic situation that places both the mother and the fetus at high risk. When this situation arises, numerous relevant issues must be individualized in the effort to reduce hazards threatening both the mother and the fetus. These issues have been addressed in terms of the published experience and in terms of modern obstetric, anesthetic, and neurologic surgery technology.

The Role of Obstetrical Medical Technology in Preventing Low Birth Weight

Technology plays an important role in the practice of medicine, and it is essential that controlled clinical trials be conducted before new technologies are widely disseminated. In this article, information from the medical literature is summarized and critiqued for several common obstetric technologies which are aimed at reducing the incidence or sequelae of low birth weight and preterm birth. These technologies include home uterine activity monitoring, tocolytic drugs to suppress uterine contractions, corticosteriods to accelerate fetal lung maturity, bed rest to prevent preterm delivery, delivery methods, multifetal pregnancy reduction, and cervical cerclage. A major challenge to the practice of medicine is to find effective ways to modify physician behavior to encourage the use of proven, effective technologies, and discourage the use of unproven, ineffective technologies. Despite widespread use, most obstetrical technologies appear to have had little impact on reducing the incidence of low birth weight or preterm births, as rates of low birth weight and preterm birth have not decreased appreciably in the past 25 years. Uncovering the basic mechanisms responsible for the onset of preterm labor will undoubtedly facilitate the discovery of new technologies to prevent low birth weight and preterm births.

The diffusion of obstetric technology into rural U.S. hospitals.

We determined the distribution and sophistication of obstetric technologies in all 80 maternity hospitals in the state of Washington and examined the effect of rural or urban location, birth volume, and physician staffing on technological intensity. Although smaller and more rural hospitals refer most premature and low-birth-weight infants to regional referral centers, sophisticated prenatal and intrapartum technologies are available in the majority of even the smallest and most remote rural units. Rural hospitals have slightly lower obstetrical intervention rates than do their urban counterparts, but the differences are not great.

Introduction

In this issue investigators and commentators from Australia, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United States consider some of the many issues being studied and discussed by advocates of appropriate technology in obstetrics.

Obstetric technology and maternal emotional well-being: A further research note

Abstract Over the last ten years a number of studies have examined the relationship between aspects of the medical management of labour and delivery and maternal emotional state. The findings of these studies are contradictory: while some report links between the use of obstetric technology and subsequent negative maternal emotional state, others find no such associations. Data from a study of social support in pregnancy are drawn on to re-examine the hypothesis that maternal postnatal unhappiness is linked with the use of technology in childbirth. Utilizing data from two postal questionnaires sent to mothers six weeks and one year postpartum, and also hospital obstetric casenote information, significant associations are found between overall ‘scores’ of obstetric technology, on the one hand, and, on the other, some measures of control and emotional and physical well-being reported by mothers. Other measures of emotional well-being, particularly those reporting feelings for the baby, do not appear to be linked with obstetric technology scores.

Evaluating new treatments and diagnostic technologies in obstetrics. Practical problems, ethics, and solutions.

This article develops arguments for the use of decision theory, rather than intuition, to determine the size of trials. It is wrong to expect doctors to ignore personal preferences in favor of clinical experiments unless the trial is capable of showing differences in treatment effect that would influence clinical practice substantially. It follows from our analysis that if delta (the treatment effect that the trial is designed to detect) is sufficient to alter clinical practice, then the alpha and beta errors of a trial should be equal. This applies even if a new treatment is to be compared with conventional therapy or if a treatment with high "costs" is compared with a less invasive or more inexpensive method.

Nurses' responses to changes in maternity care, Part II. Technologic revolution, legal climate, and economic changes.

ABSTRACT: Nurses’ responses to changes in obstetric technology, the legal climate, and economic pressures in maternity care were collected by means of a five‐question, open‐ended interview from 59 nurses practicing in 10 hospitals in Oklahoma and Kansas. The method and sample are described in Part I of this article. Forty‐eight of the nurses said that technologic advances have reduced job stress, raised professional status, increased interdisciplinary contacts, and either raised or lowered workloads. Defensive use of procedures in obstetrics has increased the need for charting and many other nursing duties not related to caring for patients. At the same time, anxiety and anger at the idea of being vulnerable to lawsuit for years after each birth did negatively affect some nurses’ attitudes toward their jobs and their patients. Despite the need for greater vigilance and more procedures, nurse‐patient staffing ratios are dropping in some hospital maternity units, while nurses are expected to market hospital services and help develop innovative programs.

Family and Social Sequelae of Obstetric Technologies Have Not Been Identified

BirthVolume 12, Issue 3 p. 169-169 Family and Social Sequelae of Obstetric Technologies Have Not Been Identified Michael Newton M.B., B.Ch. (Cantab), M.D. (Penn), Michael Newton M.B., B.Ch. (Cantab), M.D. (Penn) Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, IL.Search for more papers by this author Michael Newton M.B., B.Ch. (Cantab), M.D. (Penn), Michael Newton M.B., B.Ch. (Cantab), M.D. (Penn) Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, IL.Search for more papers by this author First published: September 1985 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-536X.1985.tb00959.xAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume12, Issue3September 1985Pages 169-169 RelatedInformation

Changing practices in childbirth: Report of a workshop held at the 20th congress of the international confederation of midwives, sydney, australia, September 1984

Midwifery practice is changing rapidly at present as a result of conflicting pressures. Women are requesting more involvement in the process of birth, while advances in obstetric technology require new, different and technical skills to be learned by the midwife. At the same time, midwives are questioning their own role and independence. These changes are further complicated by the scarcity of good, well controlled clinical research studies on which to base obstetric and midwifery practice. This paper is a report of a workshop which aimed to examine the conflicts experienced by midwives as a result of these changes, and to propose some resolutions to these conflicts. A bibliography of useful sources is provided. Most important among the resolutions are: 1) The need for more knowledge of all aspects of childbirth on the part of obstetricians, paediatricians, midwives and parents. 2) The need for greater trust and support among midwives, and between obstetricians and midwives.

Social consequences of obstetric technology: the importance of measuring "soft" outcomes.

ABSTRACT The impact of obstetric technology on the outcome of pregnancy has been evaluated by three main categories of outcome measures‐those to do with mortality, physical morbidity, and “psychosocial” morbidity. There has been a marked preference among obstetricians and epidemiologists for mortality as a measure of outcome. The reasons for this situation are examined. The importance is argued of taking into account the other groups of outcomes, especially the psychosocial or so‐called “soft” outcomes. Some relevant studies which have included the assessment of mothers’ attitudes to obstetric technology are cited, and the limitations of present methods of evaluating “soft” outcomes are discussed. The social evaluation and consequences of obstetric technology are placed in the broad context of the problems generated by the role of technology in modern industrialized society. (BIRTH 10:2, Summer 1983)