Birth stool

Birthing Stool. Image by freckle'sphotos. Second Life build by Aaron Griffiths for the SLENZ project. CC By

A birth stool is a stool that a woman can sit on during labour and birth. It supports her in a squat, an upright position which facilitates a less painful normal birth. However, there has been some concern that a woman who births using a birth stool has an increased risk of perineal tears.

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Royal College of Midwives. (2008). Positions for labour and birth: Midwifery practice guideline. Accessed 27 March, 2009, from http://www.library.nhs.uk/womenshealth/viewResource.aspx?resID=82516

Simkin, P., Ancheta, R., & Myers, S. (2005). The labor progress handbook: Early interventions to prevent and treat dystocia. Wiley-Blackwell: Chichester. Accessed 30 March, 2009, at http://books.google.com.au/books?id=Ccqt3ZYFKsIC