"What's your research?"
It would be nice to have some research on all of the Spinning Babies recommendations and posted techniques. Yet, I can't wait to address the needs of birthing women until after someone does the research on the Spinning Babies approach to childbirth. I can only be non-interventive and request that women work openly with their doctors and midwives about these techniques. The Spinning Babies approach is active, holistic, anecdotal, and grassroots.
Researcher Brene' Brown describes some of the quirks of research in her first TED talk.
Some of these techniques may have been studied, its true. Its just that they may not have been used in the studies in the manner in which I present them. That will make the study findings less than useful to our purposes. One example of that is the Karaminia's study on pelvic rocking in the hands and knees position, see article in this section.
If you are a medical researcher, doctor, student or midwife with an interest in doing research to advance Optimal Fetal Positioning, Maternal Positioning, and/or any of the Spinning Babies Principles or recommendations, please contact me. Let's discuss something that is doable within your study parameters.
These research topics show promise:
- The 30-second forward-leaning inversion
- Teaching Parents Belly Mapping 20-minutes before a late pregnancy ultrasound and comparing their "map" with the ultrasound image.
- Sidelying (pelvic floor) release and its effect on birth outcomes for asynclitic babies?
- The ROT baby and the route of rotation in comparison with the LOT baby.
- The frequency of ROT or OP fetal positions at the onset of labor compared to LOT or LOA/OA baby these days?
- How frequent are ROA babies among first time mothers?
These are answers I'd like to know! What do you want to study? Please message me on my Facebook or send me an email.
People are asking,
"What is the comparative accuracy rate between the kick, bulge, and movement techniques of [Belly Mapping], the palpations of a doc or midwife, and an ultrasound?"
My reply, sadly, is, no one has done a study on Belly Mapping's comparative accuracy to either palpation by an experienced provider or an ultrasound. This is something I've discussed briefly with a couple of medical students and nurses who have contacted me with an interest in Spinning Babies' potential research topics. However, until I can actually work with a group who are actually able to conduct the research we won't know.
Meanwhile, a provider's skill in palpation varies widely, as do womens' bodies (thickness, tension, amniotic fluid levels, placental location, etc.). These would be the variables effecting efficiency of palpation which would complicate such an analysis.
Several studies show that physician examination of fetal sutures is from 40-60% accurate when compared to ultrasound. We've also seen that ultrasound is not 100% either, due to images that are hard to interpret (as Lieberman discusses in her 2005 study) or due to inconsistency in human interpretation of an "underwater" ultrasound image (as I've noted through observation).
Come aboard. Plan a research study with me. I've been using some of these techniques for 20 years or so. We can find one that fits your study needs. And, they're fun!
