Maternal, Child Health and Neonatal Nursing Commons^™

Student Experiences And Beliefs Regarding Normal Physiologic Birth, Alicia N. Harris

Honors Projects

Lamaze International identifies six care practices used to promote, protect, and support the normal physiologic process of birth (Lamaze, 2007; Lamaze, 2014). These practices include: allowing labor to begin on its own; allowing freedom of movement throughout labor; providing continuous labor support; avoiding routine interventions; promoting spontaneous pushing in upright or gravity-neutral positions; and not separating mother and baby with unlimited breastfeeding opportunities. These care practices were adopted for nurses (Romano & Lothian, 2008) to support the normal physiologic birth (NPB.) The disparity between this recognized standard of care and the reality of nursing student education in the maternity clinical …