Neuromuscular control of childbirth-prepared women during the first stage of labor.

To evaluate the neuromuscular control of Lamaze-prepared women during the first stage of labor and to identify the factors which influenced control, 94 women were studied. The women were categorized into two groups: class-taught and self-taught. A tool was devised to evaluate neuromuscular control. The study revealed that class-taught women exhibited a significantly higher degree of neuromuscular control, more frequent practice patterns, and a greater ability to make goal-directed statements about their labor than the self-taught women. The data also demonstrated an association between practice and control and goal directedness and control.

Validation of infant behavior identified by neonatal nurses.

Nurses observe that the behavior of an occasional full-term healthy newborn is "unusual," "different," "funny," or "not like the others." This study was designed to determine whether infants identified by nurses as suspect behaved differently from those identified as normal. Suspect infants scored significantly lower on the Brazelton Neonatal Behavior Assessment Scale than their matched controls. No dysfunction was common across the entire suspect group. Although nurses accurately predicted suspect infant behavior, they did not identify the specific Brazelton dimensions on which infants demonstrated worrisome behavior. The results indicated that nurses are reliable sources of information about infant behavior and can be valuable aids in screening infants in need of further assessment. In addition, the data provided tentative insight into the methods nurses use to make clinical judgments. Finally, the results pointed to the possible limitations of the medical model of infant assessment and demonstrated that nurses' empirical knowledge is amenable to measurement and testing. Additional research is necessary to determine if and under what circumstances infants who behave suspiciously are at risk.