Researchers reported in the International Journal of Nursing Practice that hydrotherapy using warm showers and perineal exercises with a ball may be considered adjunct therapies for reducing childbirth-related pain. Pregnant women using the exercises had reduced pain, anxiety and epinephrine release in the 128-participant, randomized trial.

A randomized study involving veterans with chronic back pain or ongoing, intense pain associated with osteoarthritis of the knee or hip found that opioids worked no better than acetaminophen or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, also found that the non-opioid cohort experienced fewer negative side effects and had less intense pain long term.

The World Health Organization called for pregnant women to be given fewer interventions and more time to deliver and said the traditional benchmark for cervix dilation of 1 centimeter per hour is unrealistic and leads to excessive cesarean sections. The WHO said a 5 cm dilation in the first 12 hours of labor for a new mother and then 10 hours in subsequent labor is a better benchmark and recommended against routine use of episiotomy.

Rural US counties had the highest infant mortality rate between 2013 and 2015, with the highest prevalence of infant deaths due to congenital malformations, sudden infant death syndrome and unintentional injuries but the lowest rate of infant deaths due to low birth weight and maternal complications, compared with small and medium urban counties and large urban counties, according to a report in the CDC's NCHS Data Brief. The findings also showed the highest rates of post-neonatal deaths due to congenital malformations, homicide, SIDS and unintentional injuries in rural counties.

The ACNM Division of Global Health is presenting "Building a Global Health Career in Midwifery: Part 2: Developing your Global Health Toolbox and Knowledge Base," on Wednesday, April 4, at 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time. The free webinar, presented by Suzanne Stalls, CNM, MA, FACNM, senior maternal health advisor, and Katie Millar, MPH, RN, SNM, will explore how a midwife can develop the practical and interpersonal skills needed to work in a global setting, while enhancing their global maternal health knowledge. Read more.