Journal of Japan Academy of Midwifery
Online ISSN : 1882-4307
Print ISSN : 0917-6357
ISSN-L : 0917-6357
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The outline of “Japan Academy of Midwifery: Evidence-based guidelines for midwifery care in pregnancy and childbirth – 2016 edition”
Mariko IIDAYaeko KATAOKAHiromi ETOYuriko TADOKOROYuko MASUZAWAYukari YAJUHiromi ASAIAyaka SAKURAIShigeko HORIUCHI
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2018 Volume 32 Issue 1 Pages 73-80

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Abstract

In order to provide safe and comfortable care throughout the perinatal period, there must be a practical guideline, which midwives can follow. The Japan Academy of Midwifery published the “Evidence-based guidelines for midwifery care in pregnancy and childbirth – 2016 edition”, containing care policies for healthy low-risk women and newborns. In this 2016 edition, we added the new pregnancy section including 13 Clinical Question (CQ)s and the latest evidence was added to the existing 30 CQs in the intrapartum section of the “Evidence-based guidelines for midwifery care during childbirth – 2012 edition”.

This guideline describes and answers those clinical questions midwives face when caring for women. Recommendations we describe here are based on the latest evidence. Therefore, we believe this updated guideline reflects the best practice at this point in time. We hope this guideline will: 1) enable midwives to provide evidence-based practice and support women's decision making, 2) assist midwifery students to recognize the importance of knowing the constantly advancing field, and 3) promote further research activities where evidence is needed. The aim of introducing this guideline in English is to: 1) introduce and distribute the guidelines, compiled by Japanese midwives, to other countries and 2) enable Japanese researchers to use the English version as a common understanding by referring to this guideline when submitting to international journals.

In this 2016 edition, a total of 43 CQs and the recommendations for care are introduced. Although the following six CQs are commonly utilized medical treatments in the field of obstetrics, these practices require obstetrician's supervision. Therefore, we only described the evidence statements and not the recommendations: The following six CQs are: Intra-CQ1. Induction of labor; Intra-CQ2. Membrane sweeping; Intra-CQ7. Epidural anesthesia; Intra-CQ21. Episiotomy; Intra-CQ26. Perineal repair; and Intra-CQ28. Prophylactic uterotonic. Revisions in the recommendations from the 2012 edition are as follows: “Intra-CQ 3. Is nipple or breast stimulation effective to induce labor?”; “Intra-CQ9. Is acupressure or acupuncture effective to relieve labor pain?” and “Intra-CQ14. Is acupressure or acupuncture effective to augment labor?”

This paper is composed of an excerpt from the “Evidence-based guidelines for midwifery care in pregnancy and childbirth – 2016 edition” and the recommendations described here are fully translated.

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© 2018 Japan Academy of Midwifery
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