The virtual birthing unit project/Birth stool

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.

Gupta JK, Hofmeyr GJ, Smyth RMD. Position in the second stage of labour for women without epidural anaesthesia. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2004, Issue 1. Art. No.: CD002006. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD002006.pub2.http://mrw.interscience.wiley.com/cochrane/clsysrev/articles/CD002006/frame.html

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